Coastguard New Zealand has held four Mandarin-language "Tea Talks" with Chinese boaties over the past year as part of its Chinese Boat Safety Project, and says it is now testing ideas that came out of them.
The project follows a rise in drowning risk for Asian New Zealanders. Coastguard, citing Water Safety New Zealand's 2025 Drowning Prevention Report, says 12 people from Asian communities drowned in 2025, 15.4 percent of all drowning deaths. From 2016 to 2025 there were 111 such deaths, most linked to fishing and food gathering.
What the project did
Coastguard says the first phase ran last year with social change consultancy ThinkPlace. It held three focus groups, run in Mandarin, with 31 Chinese boaties in Auckland, and interviewed others with an interest in boating safety.
The work produced more than 50 ideas from the community, Coastguard says. A fourth Tea Talk was held in Auckland in February during Lunar New Year to start the second phase, in which ideas are tested and refined.
The project is led by Coastguard community engagement manager Nātia Tucker with Jade Tang-Taylor, a co-design coach at ThinkPlace. Many participants were graduates of Coastguard Education tutor Capt Michael Wang, who teaches the BoatMasters and Day Skipper courses in Mandarin.
Courses in Mandarin
Coastguard Boating Education offers Day Skipper and BoatMasters courses taught in Mandarin through Capt Wang, according to Coastguard. Dates for the Mandarin sessions aren't listed separately on the course timetable, so contact Coastguard Boating Education to book.
Help on the water
Coastguard's emergency advice is to call 111 and ask for Police, or use VHF Channel 16.
For non-urgent help on the water, call *500 from a mobile or 0800 BOATIE (0800 262 843) and select option 1.
Get involved
Coastguard says it wants to hear from boaties, and from people who work with the communities it is trying to reach, about what good engagement looks like. Contact Coastguard on 0800 262 843 or info@coastguard.nz.
Sources
- Coastguard New Zealand, "Engaging Chinese boaties in a culturally relevant setting": https://www.coastguard.nz/our-story/news-and-media/what-happens-when-you-take-boat-safety-conversations-directly-to-chinese-boaties-in-a-culturally-relevant-setting
- Coastguard New Zealand, "Bar awareness": https://www.coastguard.nz/boating-essentials/safety-on-the-water/safety-articles/bar-awareness
