Born out of necessity.
The seed for a Nelson coastguard marine rescue group was sown at a meeting of sensible boaties and C.B radio operators in 1975. This led to thirty five interested people attending the inaugural meeting of the Tasman Bay Coastguard on the 24th November 1975. The name was changed to Nelson Volunteer Coastguard in 1980. A garage was purchased in 1979 and moved to a site near the old Rowing Club building which then become the Coastguards base. In 1977 a 4.3m inflatable boat was donated with a 25hp Johnson outboard by Civil Aviation at Nelson Airport. A excellent relationship with Nelson Police was then formed and remains in place to this day.The Unit registered as an Incorporated Society in July 1977 and is a member of the Royal New Zealand Coastguard. With assistance from Nalder and Biddle Ltd, the "Victory", a 5.8m Fibreglass Plylite Dolphin powered by a BMW sterndrive was brought to help the aging inflatable. As a major step forward the two vessels were sold there years later and along with sponsorship from Amaltal Fishing Co, a 9.3m diesel launch "Amaltal Rescue" was obtained. This progressive growth continued and with sustantial help from Sealord Products, P&O Shipping and many others an ex RNLI Brede class lifeboat was purchased and became "Sealord Rescue". This modern self righting, all weather vessel begain service in 1994 following a naming ceremony attended by His Royal Highness Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. The Present facilities of the NVCG include an Operations room with Marine Band Radio's, Ground to Air Radio'sTwo telephone lines and all the navigation Equipment needed to co-ordinate search and rescue on Tasman Bay. The ops room and lecture room are well housed in the Sealord Marine Rescue Centre on Wakefield Quay, the new base opened in 1992. Nelson Volunteer Coastguard has a proud record of assisting to safety many hundreds of persons and craft worth thousands of dollars. Rostered unpaid personnel activated by pager are on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. The service depends on upon voluntary subscriptions and donations to finance its operation including maintenance, fuel and equipment replacement.
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