Our name has changed to Coastguard Sumner

Big news – we’ve changed our name! Sumner Lifeboat is now operating under the name of Coastguard Sumner.

We have been a Coastguard unit since 1976 when the Royal New Zealand Coastguard was founded.

Changing our name to Coastguard Sumner makes it clearer that we are one of 63 Coastguard units around Aotearoa. This will help agencies such as the Police, Surf Life Saving, LandSAR etc. and also the public by being consistent with Coastguard naming conventions.

We go back much further than the 1970s and Coastguard though – we can trace our roots back to the late 1800s. We will be retaining our connections to our proud heritage of saving lives at sea.

The first dedicated lifeboat at Sumner was ‘Rescue’, launched in 1898. In 1904 the Sumner Lifeboat Brigade was established, which in 1928 became Sumner Lifeboat Institution Inc.

The main point is although we’ll have a different name there’s no change to what we do – a dedicated volunteer maritime rescue service, on call 24×7 to help people on the waters around Sumner and Pegasus Bay / Banks Peninsula.

Coastguard Sumner is now our operating name, but the charitable entity of Sumner Lifeboat Institution remains unaltered. We have been gradually changing logos, signage etc. over the last few months, and we will be launching a new web site for Coastguard Sumner later this year.

Stay safe on the water everybody, but we’re here to help if you get in trouble on the water!