Three people were given a stern warning by Mr Black on Saturday evening after they crossed The Narrows between the Queenstown Gardens and Kelvin Heights on a children’s inflatable boat without a life jacket.
Mr Black said they learnt their lesson and even came in to see him the next morning and show off life jackets they had just purchased.
The following Monday, across the hill in Wanaka, an Australian traveller attempted to float down the Clutha River from Albert Town to the Luggate Bridge on a makeshift raft made of sticks. He was spotted by a commercial jet-boat operator just a few kilometres from Albert Town and managed to escape to shore after his raft disintegrated.
"He was lucky he didn’t float further downstream to where there are some strong rapids. He could have been in some real trouble," Mr Black said.
It was believed the tourist was hoping to hitch a ride to the West Coast upon his arrival at the Luggate Bridge.The man escaped a fine as he had already left the country.
However, Mr Black warned anyone else doing similarly dangerous acts would be fined under the navigation bylaws.
He said it was concerning such events were happening so early in the summer, but they were easily preventable.
"We can’t keep having these incidents. Soon someone will do something really stupid and it could result in a fatality."
"I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a bit of common sense if you’re planning on using our lakes and rivers.
"Wearing life jackets, taking two forms of communication and telling people your plans are as close to boat safety 101 as you can get and none of these guys were following any of these fundamentals. While it’s great that no-one ended up in trouble, it would be much better if they didn’t put themselves in harm’s way in the first place."
- Sean Nugent
