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Welcome to Coastguard Marlborough, it’s great to have you onboard.

 Coastguard Marlborough is one of New Zealand’s busiest primary providers of marine search and rescue services. The isolated nature of our environment and the ever increasing number of people living and holidaying in the Sounds poses it’s own unique challenge’s. Operating New Zealand’s only registered Marine Ambulance, (Bluebridge Rescue) and together with St Johns, cover an area of some 1,600 kilometres of coastline comprising  the greater Marlborough Sounds and its environs.

Operating from the Ogilvie Lee Emergency Operations Centre in Picton and working in close co-operation with St John and other emergency service agencies including, the Rescue Helicopter, NZ Police, Search & Rescue Services, NZ Fire Service, Maritime NZ & the Rescue Co-ordination Centre, the essential “Life Saving” service provided by Coastguard Marlborough, remains the only option available in most situations.

When the chips are down, it’s all about team work”.

Coastguard Marlborough, part of a strategically located network covering New Zealand’s coastline and major lakes, is run entirely by a team of professionally organised and dedicated volunteers from all walks of life, drawn from the community for the community.

Every hour of every day Coastguard is ready to respond to your call for help.

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OUR PEOPLE – TEAMWORK & COLLABORATION

As people we reflect the diversity of the community we serve. As a team we make lifelong friends with the people we stand and serve alongside. The regard we have for each other and from the people we rescue remains priceless.

THE VOLUNTEER ETHOS – WHY DO WE DO IT?

There’s a particular camaraderie that belongs only to those who’ve shared in a challenge to save a life of a fellow human being. It’s an experience that Coastguard crews know and value. Our people don’t ask a cent for what they do. Our volunteers give their time, skill and commitment to the community, readily exchanging sleep for cold, wet and fatique. Dedicating many hours of their personal family time training to become highly skilled and efficient and ensuring the organisation achieves its goal of “saving lives at sea”. Our volunteers are the spirit of our organisation giving over 4,000 hours of service to our community each year, often in difficult and dangerous conditions, responding to calls for help, rescuing people and ensuring they return home safely to their families or transporting them to medical treatment.

“Something happens to a person when you save a life”.

It’s a great feeling to know that you have saved a life, but in typical Kiwi fashion we prefer to remain modest about such matters. Perhaps, “quiet achievers” is a good description of our volunteers?  There is no greater sense of purpose in existence than knowing that the end goal is saving life. It puts many of life’s other priorities into perspective. When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never take back. “Our time is our life”….

“Coastguard, the charity saving lives at sea”.