Life-savers rescue wayward wet-bike

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 6

Life-savers rescue wayward wet-bike

By SUZANNE KEEN Canterbury surf lifesavers rescued a wetbike from the sea ats Cave Rock, Sumner, yesterday. The gloomy weather might have kept swimmers away from the beach during the morning, but it did not deter one man who decided to take his wetbike for a spin on the Estuary. Unfortunately the fun got a little out of hand when the throttle on the machine jammed at full speed. Mr Geoff Barry, the co-ordinator of the Can-

terbury Surf Life-Saving Association, said the man ditched the bike and got ashore safely. However, his bike headed out to sea and had to be saved by the surf life-saving patrol in its rescue boat. Mr Barry said many people were using recreational equipment in the sea without the necessary knowledge of the surf or the skill to use it safely. Two girls on a foam board and a surf board were rescued from the sea at Scarborough on Wednesday after getting

caught in the rip. “They were being carried out to sea, but they were lucky that some life-savers training there saw them and got them out. It is not a patrol area.”

Mr Barry said this area was a particularly popular spot and he was concerned that many people swimming there during the late afternoon or early evening did not realise the danger of being sucked out towards the breakwater. There were also four rescues at Waimairi Beach on Wednesday.