Waikanae Surf Life Saving Club

Walk, Run, Connect, Reward!
Thursdays done right, meet at Waikanae Surf Life Saving Club 🏃🏃‍♀️🍻

A couple of weekends ago a crew of Waikanae members headed off on their annual pilgrimage to Waikaremoana. The group included members of our Dads Army crew (OG members of the club), a club first aid instructor, parents of Junior Surf kids, two Junior Surf groms, and assorted partners who probably thought they were signing up for a relaxing weekend.

While fishing on Friday, the group spotted a tiny tin boat way off in the distance near one of the old hut sites. At the time it looked a little under-sized for the lake, but everyone carried on because, after all, optimism is free!

Later that afternoon, as dusk started creeping in and the fish had clearly clocked off for the day, the group decided it was time to head home. Leaving Hopuruahine, one boat spotted something yellow floating in the water — a life jacket. Then a bag of groceries drifted past. Which, as most experienced outdoors people know, is rarely a positive sign.

About then, a radio call came over the VHF from Home Bay reporting an overturned boat with two people in the water. The message didn’t sound like it was in their area, but considering there were only four boats on the entire lake and one of the party had just discovered the world’s saddest supermarket delivery, the group decided to investigate.

One member then spotted frantic waving from the shoreline. One boat peeled off and headed in, finding two very cold, very wet, and extremely relieved young men — along with the survivors of the expedition: a couple of packs and a rifle that was wearing one of the boys' lifejackets!...apparently it ranked very highly in the “items not to lose” category.

The pair were hauled aboard and immediately “encouraged” by the medic to strip off so they could get into warm dry gear. Nothing builds trust between strangers quite like hypothermia and a stern first aider. The group then transported them safely back to Home Bay and their vehicle.

Meanwhile, the other two boats collected whatever gear they could salvage from the lake, secured the overturned boat to the bank, and headed home feeling suspiciously like the cast of a low-budget Coastguard documentary.

Key Takeaways
👉Don’t take a 10-foot tinny onto Lake Waikaremoana unless your life insurance is fully paid up.
👉Carry a VHF radio or EPIRB. Cell coverage is great right up until you actually need it.
👉More than 100 mm of freeboard is not an unreasonable luxury.
👉Mid-lake is not the ideal place to swap drivers.
👉Your life jacket belongs on your body, not attached to your rifle to stop it sinking...priorities!

Positive Outcomes
👉Old buggers can still get the job done — especially when their kids and grandkids are nearby to do the heavy lifting.
👉Tawny Port tastes significantly better after an unexpected rescue mission.
👉'In it for Life' 💙💛

We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome the incomparable Liz Thompson back to the Kaiaponi Waikanae coaching team!🎉🎉

Bringing an exceptional depth of experience, knowledge, and passion to the program, Liz’s credentials in surf ski and kayak paddling are second to none. Over winter, she’ll be leading our ski paddlers on the river — developing strong technical foundations and confidence in our newer athletes, while challenging and refining the skills of our more experienced paddlers to ensure they hit the summer season stronger, faster, and more prepared than ever.

Liz’s ability to inspire, motivate, and elevate athletes at every level makes her an invaluable part of the team, and we’re incredibly excited to have her expertise back on deck! 💙💛

Club Mascot, Waikanae W***y had a very busy season, tripping around the country with the Kaiaponi Waikanae team! His favourite events were Oceans and Senior Nationals. At Senior Nationals in Ohope, W***y accompanied the Cairns kids and had a blast cheering on the Masters crew and then the Senior athletes. Earlier in the season he was lucky enough to tag along with young Scarlett at Oceans in Papamoa and was super impressed by our junior team! Scarlett had so much fun with our mascot that she wrote a story about their adventures for her school! Read all about it below👇👇 Thanks Scarlett, Olive, Jack and Flynn for taking such good care of our mate, he had an awesome summer and is looking forward to the winter Pool Rescue season!

An awesome event is coming to Waikanae soon and this one is all for the ladies💞 read all about it and find ticket info below 👭

What a way to wrap up the event Quaid! Congratulations and well done from all of us💪😎💙💛

Catch up on all the news, award winners and photos from the recent Kaiaponi Waikanae Awards Dinner here...

Latest Newsletters

Semis for Quaid tonight, let's go fella!!💪💪😎

Day 2 over in Brandenburg sees finals for our K4s including an A final for the women, and semifinals for Finn Murphy, Peter Cowan, Aimee Fisher and Quaid Thompson.
Then we'll see Kurtis Imrie in his K1 500m heat and the K2 men in action in their heats.

Tune into tonight or the YouTube channel to watch it live from 7pm

We're so so proud of our girl! Congratulations Georgie, one of the hardest working athletes, reliable Lifeguards and most fabulous humans we know. Go get it G! 💙💛