December 16, 2016
Water safety tips put on Facebook
As summer warms up the ocean people are heading back into the water, and that means it’s time for a safety reminder.
Water safety experts and enthusiasts who are working with a University of Otago study on Maori water safety have teamed up on Facebook to bring the 12 days of Christmas Maori style, offering tips and tricks,
One of them, Rob Hewitt, says the sinking of a fishing boat Francie on the Kaipara bar last month is a reminder of how quickly things can go wrong.
He says Maori who make up a disproportionate percentage of those who drown along New Zealand’s coasts and rivers.
"We’ve got a Facebook page called Tangaroaararau. We're challenging people to put posts up or photo's of them in a life jacket in different situations. The winning photo or winning caption they're going to get a day skippers course visited by myself and a couple of others for their community," says Rob Hewitt.
https://www.facebook.com/tangaroaararau/
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