Drunk hoons attack skipper

The skipper of a Tauranga chartered fishing boat says he has never been so scared for his life as when he was attacked by drunken thugs while at sea on Sunday.
Te Kuia skipper Archie McTainsh (pictured) said he was so worried that he asked deckhands to hide all the knives on board while another deckhand called police.
Mr McTainsh said the men, who were passengers, allegedly assaulted and threatened to kill him after throwing his cellphone and expensive fishing rods overboard while out at sea.
"It was definitely a life-threatening situation, not just for me," he said.
The boat had 26 passengers on board and was anchored at the Middle Ground fishing area, about 11km offshore from Mount Maunganui.
The men, who were in a group with four others, were drinking beer they brought on board and began complaining of not catching hapuka.
"Now I'm no choir boy but the language they were using was rough," Mr McTainsh said.
Mr McTainsh said this was upsetting other passengers, including children.
When asked to tone it down, the men became more aggressive and abusive, he said.
Mr McTainsh said he called the trip off and rang headquarters to let them know.
When the men weren't happy he offered them his cellphone to talk to headquarters but they threw it overboard, he said.
He said he received a "king" hit.
"I thought someone had hit me from behind with a lump of wood," he said.
"They were big boys."
He said the men then threatened to kill him.
"They said 'we will find you and we are going to kill you'," he said.
"I had a whole boat load of people and I'm standing next to them. I'm trying to calm them down."
Mr McTainsh said it "was that bad" he asked deckhands to remove all knives on board and lock them away.
The men then allegedly threw fishing rods overboard.
As Mr McTainsh steered the boat back to port the men, who he described as "rottweilers", continued to berate him through the wheel house door, he said.
"That was the longest hour-and-a-half in my life."
Mr McTainsh believed the men were on drugs as well as alcohol.
A 40-year-old unemployed man from Maketu and a 46-year-old man from Rotorua were arrested at Mount Maunganui wharf. They were each charged with threatening to kill and theft. The 40-year-old was charged with assault.
Both men were bailed on Sunday night and expected to appear in Tauranga District Court on Thursday. Remaining passengers were offered a refund or another trip.