After nearly 50 years of saving souls on the high seas and providing peace of mind to local fishers and boaties, Ōpōtiki Coastguard is appealing to the community for help.

The coastguard has launched an appeal to raise funds for a new building that will better serve its needs while also providing a community hub.

The existing Coastguard building at 1 Wharf Street was built in the 1950s and originally functioned as the yacht club before becoming the centre of Coastguard operations in 1975.

An Options Analysis study undertaken in 2022 highlighted a pressing need to upgrade the coastguard’s base of operations and identified the existing location as “by far the most appropriate site to meet the long-term needs of Coastguard Ōpōtiki”.

Coastguard vice-president Keith Osborne said in the past year the case for an improved coastguard facility had grown exponentially.

“In our busiest day this summer we had close to 140 boats heading out from the wharf, with trailers overflowing from the carpark and into the surrounding area, and people coming from as far as Taupō and Gisborne to launch.

“We have also seen a lot of people coming over from all over the Bay to launch from our safer access.”

He said the new building would not just be a crucial improvement for the coastguard, but would provide an amazing asset to the community.

“It’s a pretty grandiose plan but having said that, the new facility could not only be self-funding with a cafe and function room on the second floor, but the top floor can provide a base for the harbourmaster, civil defence, search and rescue and any community groups needing the space.”

Coastguard volunteer Steven Impey said the new harbour groynes, although not all-weather access, allowed for 24/7 tidal access.

“With this we are seeing more boats and bigger boats launching regularly.”

One of the most vital objectives of the building upgrade though is to finally provide storage for the coastguard’s largest response vessel, the 12.5 metre Rayglass Protector purchased after the 36th America’s Cup competition in 2021.

Ōpōtiki Coastguard president Ron Jones considers this one of the priorities of the upgrade.

“This boat is a huge asset to our operations; we are able to tow larger boats, and our crew can get to jobs quicker and are much more ready to carry out the work required.

“At the moment, it is stored about half an hour away and requires a pilot vehicle to bring over the bridge into town, which is far from ideal. The new building design will incorporate its own launching ramp, which can shave crucial minutes off our response times.

“We already have consent for this, although there have been a few hiccups along the way as the plans overlap slightly into river regress, but the Ōpōtiki council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council have been very supportive in finding solutions.”

As well as the building appeal set up for donations, the upcoming Show and Shine swap meet on February 21 at Memorial Park is another way the community can support the Coastguard and help raise funds for this crucial project.

Mr Impey has been overwhelmed by the community response to the appeal so far.

“It has taken us over seven years of planning and research to get to this point and we cannot thank the local community enough for their support, not only with the Coastguard Lottery tickets, but by supporting fundraisers and events.

“We have also had offers from local contractors and tradesmen to help with the upgrade, which we hope to take them up on soon.

“Good things take time, but this will be a great thing.”