The quick actions of a former emergency department and Defence Force nurse helped stabilise a seriously injured young man following a boating incident on Lake Te Anau yesterday (15th January).

Invercargill nurse Susan Weir was at Te Anau's Bluegum Point with her husband and son when a boat pulled up at the public boat ramp.

There was lots of waving and shouting, she said.

The boat was met by a fire and emergency crew.

Weir rushed to assist and ended up spending more than an hour on the boat with other emergency personnel, helping to stabilise the man.

It was a team effort, she said.

Regional Harbourmaster Lyndon Cleaver was also on the lake at the time of the incident.

He said he understood someone had fallen off a biscuit and that the towing boat had then hit that person, who was also a family member.

The critically injured patient was subsequently airlifted to Dunedin hospital.

Cleaver said he had expected yesterday [on the lake] to be relatively quiet due to the Hop 'n' Vine festival and Kepler Challenge, however it had been anything but.

He also noted that there had been a huge increase in jet skis since [the] Covid [pandemic].

Te Anau has 3 ski lanes - Blue Gum Point, Brod Bay and Dock Bay.