Yes, you’ll need to wear one. From Friday 9 October 2026, everyone on board recreational craft 6 m or under must wear a lifejacket while underway, and paddleboards are on Maritime NZ’s list. That covers the sea, lakes and rivers. The SUP exception is SUP surfing. Then take two waterproof ways to call for help, and give someone ashore a live link: VesselSOS does that part, with an SOS screen that dials 111 with your position ready to read.
Maritime NZ: “From 9 October 2026, everyone on board a recreational craft 6 metres and under must wear a lifejacket when the craft is underway.” Paddleboards are named as recreational craft, and the rule covers lakes, streams and rivers as well as the coast. Underway means you’re not at anchor, aground, or tied to a dock or the shore, so drifting counts. Offences and penalties haven’t been created yet, but the rule applies from that day. More in lifejacket rules in NZ.
Surfboards are excluded from the lifejacket rules, and so is SUP surfing. Paddling out from the beach to cruise the bay isn’t SUP surfing. In Maritime NZ’s words, the exemption “does not apply to all people who are using a SUP, it only applies specifically when a person is SUP surfing.”
Maritime NZ and Coastguard both say it: carry at least two ways to call for help that work when wet, like a VHF radio and a phone in a waterproof case. On a board that usually means a phone in a pouch on your lifejacket, plus a PLB or handheld VHF if you head further out. Some regional bylaws make carrying communications compulsory, so check yours in boating rules by region.
Start tracking before you launch and send the link to one person; the app does nothing else in the background, and they see your battery too. If the day turns serious, the SOS screen has your position, a script that starts with “Police” and a one-tap 111 call.
A lifejacket and a leash keep you alive; a phone only gets help moving. VesselSOS is an aid, not a rescue service: in immediate danger, call 111 and ask for Police, or use VHF channel 16 if you carry a radio.
From 9 October 2026, yes, whenever you’re underway, unless you’re SUP surfing. It applies on the sea, lakes and rivers.
Not yet. Maritime NZ says the offences and penalties for the new wearing rule “have not been created yet”. The rule still applies, and Maritime NZ can already prosecute when breaking the Maritime Rules causes significant harm.
Yes. GPS works through the pouch, tracking runs on its own, and the SOS screen uses large type: one tap on SOS, one yes/no question, and the app dials 111. It works with wet thumbs.
The SOS screen (your position, the call script and the 111 call) is free forever, with no account. Plus adds the live tracking link for the people ashore, your contacts and board profile, and trip history. It’s free during the beta.