Maketu coastguard president Shane Beech has been honoured by Coastguard New Zealand as the Coastguard Unit Support Volunteer of the Year.

Shane is among a number of coastguard volunteers recognised at the Coastguard New Zealand Awards of Excellence for outstanding contributions to their communities.

Coastguard Unit Support Volunteer of the Year Shane Beech. Photos: Supplied.

The annual awards honour the individuals and their units who provide a crucial life-saving service to Kiwis using New Zealand waterways.

It is also a timely reminder to encourage boaties to get prepared and check their vessels before heading out on our seas, lakes and rivers this weekend.

Shane is recognised for the countless hours he gives to Maketu Coastguard in his roles as president, media officer and senior operational crew.

He was also instrumental in the founding of Maketu Coastguard in 2008, after incorporating the Volunteer Sea Rescue Service.

In 2013, Shane played a big part in the building of Maketu's Rescue Vessel ‘Eastpack Rescue' and its berthing facility.

As well as his coastguard duties he is also the Volunteer Fire Chief, sits on the Maketu Community Board and runs a campground while balancing family commitments.

'Last year, Labour Weekend saw coastguard volunteers bring over 200 people home safely and respond to approximately 80 incidents over three days,” says Coastguard New Zealand CEO, Patrick Holmes.

'Over 50 per cent of these call outs were for mechanical or electrical failures.

'We recommend skippers get boat engines serviced at least once a year and check batteries, fuel lines, oil, propellers, water pumps and other hardware frequently. Most of these situations could easily have been averted by preparation.”

This year more than 2,200 Coastguard volunteers will give more than 300,000 hours of their time and bring more than 6,800 people home safely, says Patrick.

'As a charity, we simply couldn't achieve these outcomes without our volunteers and their continued dedication to saving lives on the water,” he says.

'But we need boaties to play their part and take responsibility for their own safety too.”

Shane (second from right) with fellow Coastguard New Zealand winners.

Other award winners were:

Hutchwilco Coastguard Volunteer of the Year: Murray Miskelly (Northland Air Patrol).

Mitre 10 Coastguard Rescue of the Year: Coastguard Canterbury, for the rescue of seven people from the beach at Port Cooper in May.

Century Yuasa Coastguard Rescue Vessel Volunteer of the Year: Lynn Stuart (Wanaka Lakes).

Altex Coatings Ltd Coastguard Unit of the Year: Coastguard Howick.

Coastguard Community Relations Activity of the Year: Auckland Coastguard Incorporated – Community Open Day.

Coastguard Communication and Incident Management Volunteer of Year: Jill Stewart (Coastguard Northern Region Communications).

Coastguard Air Patrol Volunteer of the Year: Murray Miskelly (Coastguard Northland Air Patrol).