Boatie dies after capsize

Police, ambulance services, the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter, and Eastern Rescue Helicopter attended after a local alerted emergency services.

Aunty sees group head out to sea without lifejackets on.

A Mahia man who died after the boat he was skippering capsized yesterday wasn't wearing a lifejacket. Neither were the boat's three other occupants, despite there being two lifejackets on board.

Mahia father and digger operator Malcolm Blake, 57, was checking cray pots off Mahia Peninsula in a 12-foot aluminium boat with three friends - a married couple and their teenage son - when the boat capsized about 10am. They managed to swim to shore at the edge of a cliff at the end of Kinikini Rd, near Mahia township.

Mr Blake is believed to have died on the beach. A 48-year-old male friend received spinal injuries while his 40-year-old wife and 16-year-old son received minor injuries.

Police, ambulance services, the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter and Eastern Rescue Helicopter attended after a local alerted emergency services. Mr Blake and the 48-year-old were winched from the rocks.

A Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter spokeswoman said the helicopter flew Mr Blake's body to Wairoa and the Eastern Rescue Helicopter flew the 48-year-old to Hawke's Bay Hospital, where he was reported to be in a serious but stable condition last night.

Wairoa Police Senior Sergeant Tony Bates said none of the four people on board the boat had been wearing a lifejacket, yet said there were two on board. It was not known who the boat's owner was.

Gisborne Police Senior Sergeant Maui Aben said police were trying to figure out how the boat got into trouble and couldn't yet confirm whether it had been flipped by a large wave.

Mr Blake's aunty, who did not wish to be named, described him as "a very generous individual".

"It didn't look like they were wearing lifejackets when I saw them setting off this [yesterday] morning," she said.

"He had a heart of gold. He used to go out and get crayfish for people - for birthdays and special occasions."

She said he was hardworking, good at his job and spent his spare time fishing and catching crayfish.

"He fished all his life. He used to be a commercial fisherman."

She said Mr Blake's death would have a big impact on the community. "Everybody knows him and he comes from a big family." He is survived by a partner and children, including a 4-year-old son.

The family was yesterday still seeking clarity on the incident.

"We've heard different stories - that he had a heart attack, that the boat hit a rock. We don't know what has happened."

Meanwhile police are still searching for another fisherman missing after setting off in a dinghy near Warkworth.

The body of 37-year-old Stewart Atutahi, who was skippering the dinghy, was found on Wednesday afternoon in the water near Kawau Island but 22-year-old Nicholas Stubbs, of Warkworth, is still missing.

Earlier this week a Haumoana man was airlifted by the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter to Hawke's Bay Hospital on Sunday after a boat propeller severed an artery in his leg during a launching at Waimarama Beach.

Today marks the beginning of Safer Boating Week, which focuses on encouraging boaties to prepare their vessels and gear ahead of the traditional start of the boating season at Labour Weekend.