North Cape recovery draws to a close but rāhui remains

One of the recovered bodies of Sunday's boat tragedy arriving at Te Pua in the Far North on Monday. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The recovery operation of the fifth person unaccounted for from Sunday night's North Cape boating tragedy has come to a close following the discovery of the body late on Tuesday afternoon.

New Zealand Police released a statement at around 5.30pm on Tuesday confirming a fifth body had been recovered as part of the North Cape search operation.

"Police can confirm a fifth body has been located in the water during a search and rescue operation off North Cape," the statement said.

"The body has been retrieved this afternoon by a vessel supporting the search
operation.

"Search efforts, led by the Rescue Coordination Centre at Maritime NZ, have
now concluded."

Before the last body was found, a search of about 500 square miles south of North Cape continued on Tuesday with three vessels, two helicopters and one fixed-wing aircraft looking for wreckage.

Following on from the end of the recovery operation on Tuesday, NZ Police released another statement yesterday morning with the names of those who had passed away.

Police confirmed the five people were Cambridge men Geoffrey James Allen, 72, Michael Patrick Lovett, 72, Richard Eldon Bright, 63, and Mark Keith Walker, 41, as well as 43-year-old Te Awamutu man Mark Kenneth Sanders.

"Our deepest condolences go out to the families of these victims," the statement said.

"Police and Victim Support continue to provide support to their families, as
well as for the survivors of this tragedy.

"Post mortem examinations for some of the deceased commenced yesterday (Tuesday) and these will continue today (Wednesday).

"The deaths will be referred to the Coroner and Police are continuing to make
inquiries into the incident on behalf of the Coroner."

The Mangonui-based Enchanter, with two crew and eight fishermen on board, sank off Murimotu, an island just off North Cape, in Sunday night's ferocious storm.

Police divers examined the wreckage on Monday as part of their search for the missing person.

The waters where the boat tragedy occurred were treacherous in the wrong conditions, according to longtime local fisherman Nicky Conrad.

Conrad, of Te Kao, said he had fished the waters around the Cape since he was a child accompanying his grandfather on trips out of Pārengarenga Harbour.

"On a good day, like any other piece of ocean, it's a beautiful place to be - but it can be quite treacherous in the wrong conditions."

The conditions on Sunday were "horrible", Conrad said.

Locals wouldn't dream of heading out when there was a continuous line of surf across the Pārengarenga Harbour bar, as there was that day.

"Given the conditions and the wind you'd be foolish to be out there - or you've been caught out [by a change of conditions] and trapped."

Conrad said shallow rock structures extended under the sea about a mile east from Murimotu, the vessel's last location.

When easterly winds blew up those structures lifted the swell and generated large waves.

"You have thousands of miles of sea, then all of a sudden it comes up against a brick wall."

Relying on weather forecasts could be tricky because they were often a day out in the Far North.

Boaties often had to go with their senses, he said.

While much of the coast around North Cape was exposed and dominated by cliffs, there were two places boats could seek shelter.

Depending on the wind, boats could head to Tom Bowling Bay, just west of the Cape, or sneak behind Murimotu to a small bay.

"People think of the east coast as calm but when it's rough it's a place you don't want to be," Conrad said.

Late Monday evening, in accordance with Te Aupōuri tikanga, kaumātua Winiata Brown, Robert Kaaka and Heta Conrad established a rāhui with karakia held at Te Pua on the shores of Pārengarenga.

The rāhui will be in place for two weeks.

Chairman of Te Rūnanga Nui o Te Aupōuri, Peter-Lucas Jones, said the iwi's thoughts and prayers were with everyone impacted by the tragedy, especially the whānau of the men who passed away.

"The rāhui extends from Maunga Tohoraha [Mt Camel] to Murimotu [North Cape] and around to Te Rerenga Wairua [Cape Reinga] and the Pārengarenga Harbour is also included in the rāhui.

"The area concerned is in a state of 'tapu', due to the tragic event.

"There will be no gathering of kaimoana [seafood) or fishing in the area under rāhui. Kaumātua will advise when the rāhui has been lifted according to Te Aupōuri tikanga."

Lucas said the iwi asked that the rāhui be adhered to out of respect for those who had lost their lives in the tragedy.

He described how the kaumātua of Te Aupōuri had a very intimate understanding and knowledge of the natural environment and as the esteemed elders of their iwi, were the right people to put the rāhui in place.

"As Mana Whenua and Mana Moana, the kaumātua of Te Aupōuri have the authority to establish rāhui. On this occasion, it is a tragedy that has given rise to the rāhui.

"Kia tau tonu te manaakitanga o Te Wāhi Ngaro ki runga i a tātou katoa [Hoping that you are all taking care of yourselves]."

Meanwhile, Mangonui Harbour warden Steve Smith said the town was also in mourning.

He said the Enchanter was one of the biggest charter fishing vessels in Mangonui, robust and well-balanced with a lot of centre-weight to keep it upright, and skipper Lance Goodhew was highly experienced.

"I'd have absolutely no hesitation in going out with him on a trip like up to Three Kings," Smith said.

The formal investigation was only starting but he suspected a freak accident such as a rogue wave taking off the flying bridge at the top of the cabin.

"You lose that and it destabilises the vessel pretty quickly. All sorts of things can happen."
Goodhew, who was a personal friend, was out of hospital but "shell-shocked".

While the deceased fishermen had only been in Mangonui a few days, they were considered part of the community.

The effect on the town was huge, Smith said.

"The town is like it's in mourning. It's bad enough to lose a boat, but lives with it, is beyond belief. Our heartfelt sorrow goes out to those involved."

An attempt yesterday to salvage the wreck of the Enchanter failed, with the vessel's partly-submerged hull sinking as it was towed towards sheltered waters and it is now on the sea bottom.

The sinking is a blow to investigations by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, the New Zealand Police and potentially by WorkSafe.

Wreckage (inset) and the capsized hull of the Enchanter, which sank off Murimotu on Sunday with the loss of five lives. Photo / Supplied

Northland harbourmaster Jim Lyle said the sinking was unfortunate and occurred despite the best efforts of salvage contractors.

Lyle would not say where the Enchanter had sunk or in what depth, in case investigators wanted to return to the wreck to retrieve items or continue their examination of the vessel.

A second salvage attempt was unlikely given its location.

The hull was being towed from Murimotu, off North Cape, to Houhora Harbour, where a crane barge was to have hauled it out of the water. It would have then been transported to Whangārei.

The crane barge needed sheltered water and could not operate in the open sea.

The sinking occurred just before 1pm yesterday.