Smart Writing

Taranaki Rescue Helicopter winches badly injured man off Mt Taranaki

The Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust FRIENDS fundraising campaign is now on.

Become a FRIEND and together we can save lives.
Over the next eight weeks representatives of the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter will be calling homes rallying for help – will you answer the call for help?

 

 

 

 

 

 

By freelance writer Sharyn Smart

Stratford man Guy Vickers says he would have died without the help of the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter crew winching him off Mt Taranaki.

“I can’t describe the feeling when I heard the thump of the copter.  It was an amazing feeling.  The first person to see me was crewman Phil Dwyer.  He pointed to me and gave me two ‘thumbs up’ from the chopper cargo bay.  At that point I knew that I was absolutely safe.  They’d found me.”

Guy was climbing on the slopes of Mt Taranaki when he fell threw a snow pocket and severely broke multiple bones in his ankle.

“I walked into the gully OK on snow … but as I retraced my steps I chose to move further down towards the gully base.  After the fourth step my left foot just broke through the surface of the snow and I went down about a metre where my crampons grabbed on a sloping rock underneath.  The weight of my body with my day pack came down on that left foot and just snapped outwards, breaking several bones in my ankle area!”

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Good Home Taranaki MountainAirs -v- Nelson Giants

The absence of their captain Aaron Bailey-Knowles due to a one game suspension created a bigger workload for the young MountainAirs with Brad Anderson taking on captain duties.

Even though Braimoh Suleiman couldn’t train all week he did his job exceedingly well pulling in an impressive total of 15 rebounds and scoring 21 points.  Not to be outdone Adrian Oliver had a strong game scoring 27 points with 7 from 11 frees and 2 very impressive steals reflected in the Airs’ 5 fast break points stats.

With the quarter time score 14 – 20 and then the half time score 30 – 38 the MountainAirs were very much in the game.

Kaye McKee had a super game with 12 points, drawing 5 fouls and 3 rebounds.  The ball would just not sink for Brad Anderson as he missed two 3 pointers and netted 2 out of 10 field goals scoring 6 points.

Both Good Home Taranaki MountainAirs’ coach Daryn Shaw and Fico Finance Nelson Giants’ coach Liam Flynn had words with the referees with teams sent to the bench as a scoreboard dispute was settled.

Giants Jamal Boykin and Josh Pace dominated their team’s scoring with 20 points with 9 rebounds and 21 points with 6 rebounds respectively with Mika Vukona adding a further 14 points with 9 rebounds.

In the 3rd quarter the MountainAirs found their rhythm surging ahead with 10 unanswered points.  The crowd at the TSB Stadium went crazy sensing a comeback from the home team.  Unfortunately it was short lived as the Nelson Giants fought back ending the quarter 69 – 56.

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Mountain Airs win tough


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Receiving a presentation for his 201st National Basketball League games in front of his home crowd was a proud moment for Airs captain Aaron Bailey-Nowell.  He walked on court to a huge cheer from the crowd holding hands with his two gorgeous children.

His strong physical play and focused determination was evident from the first to last whistle.  He stepped up under enormous pressure with 2.6 seconds on the clock, score tied at 69 – 69 and slotted two free-throws like he was at home in his backyard.  The crowd went into a frenzy and spent the remainder of the game on their feet with the game finishing 71 – 69 with the Airs taking their first win.

With the lead changing 11 times, MountainAirs biggest lead 8 points and the Pistons leading by 9 combined with the score being tied eight times, fans’ senses went into overload.

Import Suleiman Braimoh had a fantastic game scoring 29 points and claiming 16 rebounds.  Captain Aaron Bailey-Nowells netted 8 from 12 frees with the ball refusing to sink for most of his other shots at the hoop, finishing on 12 points.

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The Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust FRIENDS fundraising campaign is now on.

Become a FRIEND and together we can save lives.

Over the next eight weeks representatives of the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter will be calling homes rallying for help – will you answer the call for help?

Taranaki Rescue Helicopter plucks mother and son off Snapper Rock

By freelance writer Sharyn Smart1960957_608983249149290_417450887_o

An evening adventure at Taranaki’s Back Beach had all the makings for an episode of the “Bear Grylls” TV show for an unlucky mother and son.

Fiona Grigg and her son Liam, 15, were “very, very thankful and humble” for the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter crew winching them off Snapper Rock.

“The helicopter came just after nightfall. My stomach sank at the thought of having to stay on the island for the night. I thought I might have to do a ‘Bear Grylls’ number – that is to survive with very little (except he carries a flint and a knife!!!).”

Fiona recalls the night’s events.  “Sunday night was fine and warm and the tide had just turned.  Two of the kids waded in and swam a little out to Snapper Rock.”

Within 10 minutes sea conditions had deterioratedand only Liam’s friend made it back to the beach.

Fiona, ‘swam and bobbed like a cork’ out to Liam.  They attempted to swim ashore from the far side of the island without success and returned to snapper rock. “It was the only thing to do as Liam was cold and a little confused.  There was no way I could drag him through the waves.”

Onshore locals lent husband John a cell phone to call for help.

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Inspiring Real Life Stories

In 2013 I completed a National Diploma in Journalism (multi-Media) Level 5 to further my writing career.

The next goal is to turn my dream of being self-employed into reality.

Anybody who knows of any real life stories that need to be shared in order to help others please send me a short summary to smartwritingnz@gmail.com

Go to my webpage to read the stories I have already discovered.