It was the second boat in a week to get into trouble at that spot.
Senior Sergeant Brian Benn said two people were tipped out of their boat while crossing the bar at high tide at 9.55am yesterday.
The 4m aluminium boat was tipped by a series of waves.
‘‘Thankfully, they had life jackets on and managed to swim a short distance to shore, where they were located with the assistance of First Response Taieri Mouth, some local fishermen and an off-duty police officer,’’ he said.
Surf Life Saving and the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter were stood down after the boaties were safe on the shore, but they required medical assistance due to hypothermia and shock.
Snr Sgt Benn said it was good that the crew were wearing life jackets, which had possibly prevented them from drowning.
‘‘They also had good communication lines and two motors on board, so they certainly came prepared for their trip.’’
While the weather was relatively calm at the time, the sea became rough an hour later.
Snr Sgt Benn said regardless of the time of the year, the weather could change ‘‘in an instant’’ and make crossing difficult at high or low tide.
Earlier in the week, an 8.5m cabin boat capsized at Taieri Mouth at low tide, resulting in four people needing rescuing.
‘‘Water safety is so important and some simple commonsense checks can prevent needless tragedies.
‘‘It's important when boating to be familiar with navigational hazards in your area to ensure asafe passage, especially on the Taieri Mouth bar.’’
Boat safety
Safety measures
• Always wear a life jacket when boating, jet skiing or using other craft on water.
• Have two forms of waterproof communication on board.
• Make sure equipment is safe and working.
• Leave trip intentions with someone onshore.
• Always check water and weather forecast.
How to cross the bar
• Before leaving harbour, a skipper must assess conditions on the bar.
• Skippers must be aware that a rapid change in conditions might prevent safe return to harbour.
• Craft unable to weather adverse seas outside the bar should not leave port.
• For longer trips, have adequate reserve fuel and provisions to enable vessel to remain at sea and/or divert to another port should adverse bar conditions prevail.
• Ensure vessel has sufficient stability.
Factors affecting vessel's stability
• Free surface effect of liquids and loose fish.
• Additional weights on deck, including portable ice slurry bins and fuel containers.
• Deck enclosures or bins suddenly fill with water.
• Modifications to a vessel may be detrimental to stability.
• The movement of weights within vessel, including people.
