Source: Maritime New Zealand
More than 50 members – the largest turnout to date – gathered to reflect on the progress made in implementing the Recreational Craft Strategy 2023–25 and to plan for the months ahead.
Maritime NZ’s Harm Prevention Lead – Recreational Craft, Victoria Slade, says one of the standouts of the day for her was a deep dive into one particular risk area: dinghies.
“Following powerboats, dinghies are the second most common type of recreational craft involved in fatal accidents. Dinghies represent 12% of all recreational craft, yet are responsible for 26% of fatalities (more than 45 fatalities in the past 11 years),” she says. “So it’s really concerning that there are currently no safety interventions focussed on using dinghies safely.”
As part of the discussion, forum members worked together to develop possible strategies to encourage safe behaviour for dinghy users.
Other topics explored include:
- how best to promote the wearing of lifejackets, including through the potential introduction of legislation
- given the overrepresentation of Māori and Pacific men in fatality statistics, how we can build meaningful relationships with Māori communities to ensure that initiatives are developed on a foundation of mutual trust and respect
- close-to-shore forecasting – the weather services available and their coverage, strengths and limitations, and how weather predictions differ in close-to-shore areas
- the Kia Mataara winter campaign – Better your odds – which focuses on encouraging 40–60-year-old males to increase their odds of coming home safely.
The forum was organised and chaired by Maritime NZ and included presentations from partners ACC, Drowning Prevention Auckland, and MetService.
