Surf Life Saving New Zealand Otago operations committee chairman Cameron Burrow said it was now planned to buy a rescue jet ski to undertake faster rescues from distant locations off the Otago coast.
A jet ski, which was on loan to Dunedin surf life saving clubs, had been used in Dunedin over recent months, greatly cutting incident response times.
Inflatable rescue boats (IRBs) would continue to be used for most rescues close to the respective surf clubs, but jet skis could travel at up to 100kmh, two and a-half times the maximum speed of an IRB, and could swiftly undertake rescues at Green Island, and, to the north, places such as Long Beach and Doctors Point.
The $23,000 was raised at a Harbour Fish Oyster Bash event and charity auction held on April 9, in association with Andre Shi, the AND Hospitality Group and its Catacombs nightclub in the Octagon.
