Island icon, John Ogden, well-known for his adventurous spirit, has shared a candid recount of his harrowing chopper rescue last month, an ordeal that gripped the community. Through a blog post on GreatBarrier.co.nz, Ogden expressed his gratitude and detailed the night that tested his limits and the mettle of our local rescue teams.
“It is time to put the events of Sunday 28th July behind me, but a few points are worth making,” Ogden began, extending his heartfelt thanks to everyone who played a role in the rescue. “They say it takes a village to raise a child; well, it seems it takes a community and more to stop an ‘elderly man’ from behaving like a child,” he humorously noted, acknowledging his misjudgment that led to the ordeal.
Ogden’s ordeal began when a routine kayaking trip along the familiar shores near Medlands turned precarious as daylight faded and his physical condition waned. Struggling with sore hips that hampered his ability to paddle effectively, Ogden decided to exit his kayak onto a small boulder beach—a decision that led him into an unexpected night on the ridge south of Goat Hill.
“That wind-shorn mānuka with tall heather and cutty grass is almost impenetrable and the situation without a torch became serious once it’s dark,” he recalled. Ogden’s situation worsened due to a medical condition—Raynaud’s syndrome—which made his fingertips numb in the cold, complicating his use of his emergency locator beacon.
The beacon, a crucial piece of safety equipment, became the crux of his survival tale. “There are two types of Emergency Beacon; EPIRB and PLB. Mine was not actually an EPIRB as I have been incorrectly calling it, it was a PLB,” Ogden clarified. He emphasized the importance of understanding such devices, noting his struggled to activate it due to numb fingers and inadequate preparation for its use in such harsh conditions.
Throughout the night, Ogden was not alone in spirit; the local Police, LandSARS team, and Coastguards rallied to locate him. The dramatic rescue involved the Police Eagle helicopter navigating tough winds and darkness to deploy rescuers Steve and Pat, who helped him ascend to a safer location for an air-lift. “To the helicopter pilots, especially the person flying the Eagle very low over irregular wind-shorne bush and rocky outcrops in the dark looking for me, finding me, and somehow dropping off my rescuers—thank you,” Ogden expressed.
The community’s collective breath was held until the Westpac Rescue helicopter successfully extracted Ogden at dawn. He was quickly transported to the Health Centre in Claris, where, aside from scratches and cold feet, he was declared in good health.
Reflecting on the lessons learned, Ogden advises, “If you know the location could be hard to get out of due to a sea change, available time, old age, or whatever, just sit on the beach instead.” His experience serving as a sobering reminder of nature’s unpredictability and the critical importance of preparation and community.
