Precision under pressure at Godley Head
Flexibility, teamwork and technical expertise enable a challenging coastal rescue near Christchurch.
An evening walk took a turn for the worse when a man slipped while walking at Godley Head. Sliding down a steep and loose rocky gully, the man somehow avoided serious injury. However he was completely boxed in by sheer cliffs either side, the steep gully and choppy seas.
Around 6.30pm, the man was located by a friend flying a drone in the area. The man sent a text saying he was uninjured but stuck near the water’s edge. This message was viewed by the drone operator and Police were notified.
Senior Constable Rob Stokes, the Police Incident Controller, assessed the situation and formed an initial action plan with the assistance of Senior Constable Dennis Arthur. With the man at the water’s edge, just a few kilometres from the nearest Coastguard and Surf Life Saving bases, rescue from the sea seemed the most appropriate response. Rob asked the Coastguard Operations Centre to activate Coastguard Sumner, then got on the phone with the local responders. “We discussed the situation, and agreed that water-based rescue was the best initial course of action,” says Rob. “They were confident a combined Coastguard and Surf Life Saving team could do the job.”
Blair Quane, Unit President of Coastguard Sumner recalls the conditions that day. “There was a stiff north-easterly wind behind a rising tide, making for deteriorating wave conditions in the gut. It was a cool evening, with about 90 minutes of daylight remaining, so time was of the essence.” Shortly afterward, the Sumner-Taylors Surf Life Saving SAR Squad were also tasked.
The 100-metre-tall rock walls around the man were loose and narrow. Any rocks dislodged by helicopter down-draft or a rescuer on rope could pose a significant hazard to the man. Senior Constable Rob Stokes couldn’t be certain rescue by sea would work. “So with the rockfall risk in mind, I called the Hato Hone St John Air Desk, and had a GCH Aviation Christchurch rescue helicopter placed on standby. In addition, I placed members of the Christchurch based Alpine Cliff Rescue Team on standby until we knew we had safely recovered the man.”
With the onshore wind, swell and rocky shore, the responders knew that a rescue vessel probably couldn’t get close enough to the man; they’d have to enter the water to bridge the gap to the shore. “Operations in the surf zone and from the rocky shore is our bread and butter,” says Blair. “Our vessels, PPE and training are optimised for this sort of task.”
Three volunteers, who were geared up in wetsuits, helmets and flotation aids, deployed on Coastguard Sumner’s Hamilton Jet Rescue within six minutes of being tasked. The scene was only two nautical miles from their base, and by 7.07pm, they had located the man. One responder swam to the man and assessed his condition. Miraculously, he was fully conscious, able to walk, and only suffering from bruising and abrasions to his front.
One by one, a further four vessels arrived on-scene ready to assist: Coastguard Sumner deployed Ian Dewe Rescue, a jetski with an inflatable rescue sled and Blue Arrow Rescue, a larger all-weather rescue vessel. The Sumner-Taylors Surf Life Saving SAR Squad deployed two Inflatable Rescue Boats (IRB) with rock rescue swimmers on board. Blair explained, “We train regularly with one another for these types of jobs. Each of the vessels and crews bring slightly differing and complementary capabilities. When the job is time-critical, it’s better to have all the capabilities on-scene, so we can quickly get the best combination into action.”
Meanwhile, the Police Incident Controller maintained an overview of the incident, with a combined Coastguard-Surf Life Saving Incident Management Team supporting the response.
“Due to the proximity of the operation to rocky headlands, direct comms by VHF radio or cell phone were impossible,” said Blair. “The jetski was sent further offshore, until they could become a radio relay between the Incident Management Team and the on-scene coordinator aboard Blue Arrow Rescue.” Footage from a Coastguard drone was also being live-streamed back to the incident control point and on-scene coordinator. The comms relay and realtime footage provided a high level of situational awareness for the incident managers allowing them to make betterinformed operational decisions.
As the responders analysed the scene, it became clear that none of the vessels could safely perform a standard shore extraction from that narrow gut. It was too tight to effectively manoeuvre with the wind and irregular 1-metre swell. The swell was also exposing shallow rocks, which could damage or capsize a rescue vessel or IRB.
Together, the team quickly brainstormed a solution. The rescue sled from the back of the jetski was a person-sized platform, which was easy enough for a couple of responders to swim into the gut, plus small and light enough to avoid damage from the shallow rocks.
Once the sled got to shore, the man would be equipped with a lifejacket and helmet. Meanwhile, one responder would swim a towline from the sled to Hamilton Jet Rescue, which would be waiting at the mouth of the gut. With the man on the sled, and responders swimming alongside for stability and security, they would be pulled by the towline to safety.
In fading daylight, the plan was executed successfully. The man was transferred to Blue Arrow Rescue at 8.00pm, just as the sun set. The man was medically reassessed, dried off and kept warm during the journey back to base, where he was transferred to a waiting ambulance.
The entire operation was conducted with speed, clarity, and professionalism under challenging environmental conditions. Responders later likened the operation to “a well-oiled machine”— a testament to the training, inter-agency coordination, and technical skill of everyone involved.
Insights
Multi-agency training and trust leads to effective coordination. This swift and synchronised response shows the value of interagency training and relationship building. Each agency contributed to the range of capabilities available, both on scene and back at the Incident Control Point. Most importantly, personnel understood and trusted each other’s abilities. This enabled the combined team to conduct the rescue safely in difficult conditions and under time pressure.
Deploying a range of capabilities provides options. Efficient use of resources is always a consid eration. However, deploying a range of assets and capabilities in a time-critical scenario when there is limited information gives a better chance that the right capability will be present to do the job. The number and spread of rescue vessels and IRBs provided for on-scene coordination, comms relay, as well as the right tools for a successful rescue.
Technical expertise and adaptability are critical in dynamic operations. Once on-scene, responders realised that their standard rescue procedures couldn’t be used due to the narrow gut and deteriorating environmental conditions. Their experience and technical expertise meant they fully understood the capabilities and limitations of their various platforms and rescue equipment. This allowed them to adapt quickly, build a new plan to safely extract the man.
Header image courtesy Coastguard Sumner.
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This story was originally published in the July 2025 issue of Link magazine, which is produced by the NZSAR Secretariat for the wider search and rescue sector.