Surfing New Zealand is running free courses across Aotearoa, teaching surfers how to rescue fellow surfers, swimmers, fishers and boaties.
The course was designed in Australia, where it's estimated 60 percent of rescues in the open ocean are performed by recreational surfers.
There are fifteen thousand kilometers of coastline across our motu and more than 90 percent of beaches are unpatrolled.
This means often surfers are often the first responders to people who get into trouble while out in the water.
Photo: Nick Monro
Surfing New Zealand's Event and Projects Co-ordinator Dan Westerkamp knows how the ocean is no match for even the strongest of swimmers.
Last year, he saw a struggling surfer stuck in a rip at Bethells Beach - and was able to bring them back safely to the shore.
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