A bad day on the Buller River

Tim Jamieson was training to be an outdoor instructor when he drowned while kayaking on the Buller River.

There was no road smash here, no speeding, no drunk driver. Tim Phillip Redmond Jamieson's life ended one hot summer's day on the Buller River, far below the cross that bears his name.

The Wellington man was part way through his training to be an outdoor instructor at Greymouth's Tai Poutini Polytechnic.

Described as a "mid-range intermediate" level paddler, he was on a day trip with his classmates when he became trapped against a log he could not see. Half in, half out of his kayak, the 21-year-old struggled to keep his head above water. After 15 minutes he shouted, "I cannot hold myself up any more." Twenty-five minutes later he was dragged from the river, dead.

The tragedy triggered a three-and-a-half-year, emotionally charged inquiry. It would again turn the spotlight on the polytech still hurting from the 1995 Cave Creek disaster, force one man to give up his outdoor career, and anger many others in his industry who saw bureaucrats looking to find blame rather than ways to prevent more accidents.

The release of the coroner's findings this week signalled the end of a long and controversial investigation.

Tim Jamieson loved life and managed to fit a lot into it. He lived every day at high speed. At his funeral service his mother described years "of wonderful memories of a crazy, fun-loving, handsome and sometimes incredibly frustrating guy".

His constant exuberance and passion found many outlets: the vegetable garden he planned on "sheet after sheet" of paper at age 13, the Marklin model railway, and, from age 16, the cars.

He used his paper run earnings to buy the first one and by the time he was 20 he had owned 27 - most of them in the $200 to $600 price bracket. For part of his teenage years he shared "a souped-up racing green Mini with air horns, racing bucket seats and cool white stripes" with older sister Virginia. The number plate: MYT MIN.

Rosemary Jamieson said her son could recall every detail of each car he owned.

"Some he upgraded, others he completely dismantled and he filled our basement and his bedroom with spare parts, his cream carpet becoming black in the process. His bedroom was a shrine to cars, with even the front end of a car, the bonnet, the side panels, the headlamps and the grille hanging out from his top bunk."

He indulged his passion with his first job - apprentice mechanic at Pym's Tawa Motors. In 2001 he enrolled at Greymouth's polytechnic, living in the hostel and working part-time at KFC.

He completed the 32-week course and got the Certificate in Outdoor Recreation, then returned in January 2002 to start the Advanced Certificate in Leadership and Guiding.

Around 8am on Friday February 1, 2002 - the third week of the course - 12 students and three kayaking instructors prepared for a day of paddling on the Buller River. By 11.15 the group had been split in to three and began heading downstream.

Jamieson's group was first to enter Earthquake Lake, so called for its proximity to Inangahua which was hit by a massive earthquake in 1968. This section of the river has nine named rapids: One Night Stand, Whopper Stopper, Rodeo, Roller Coaster, Socksucker, Gunslinger, Popup Toaster and The Cauldron.

By the time they successfully negotiated the first two and approached the Rodeo it was midday.

Jamieson's group was led by Brett Whiteley, an experienced kayaker who was contracted to the polytechnic for this particular part of the Outdoor Education course. His brother, Ian Whiteley, was on staff as the polytech's lead kayaking instructor and was one of the other instructors with the class that day.

Brett knew about the log in the Rodeo but did not remember it until he had travelled safely through the rapid and turned back to see Jamieson's kayak snagged against it.

As Jamieson struggled to free himself, the rushing water going over the log and swirling around the trapped kayak created a hydraulic force and a deafening sound, too loud to talk over. One of the log's two vertical limbs was pinned against Jamieson's chest, the other held the spray skirt of the kayak. He twisted his upper back and shoulders awkwardly to keep his head up.

Whiteley and another instructor Peter Kettering, whose kayaking group had by now caught up and joined the rescue mission, got close enough to the log to try to free Jamieson from the kayak but were swept away by the surging waters.

They desperately threw ropes, life jackets and buoys, hoping to dislodge the kayak or just give the frightened student a flotation aid.

Above them on SH6, roading contractor Frank Vandersluys had seen students kayaking through the rapid and saw Jamieson stop abruptly when snagged by the log.

Realising the paddler was in serious trouble Vandersluys drove frantically to find cellphone coverage and called a local helicopter for help.

He then drove on to the nearby settlement of Lyell to alert the Murchison fire rescue service.

They raced to the gorge but could not access the river and, through binoculars, could only watch Jamieson drown.

On the river, the paddlers were not giving in without a fight.

While Vandersluys was raising the alarm, another student, Joshua Roberts, had manoeuvred his kayak close to Jamieson. He pulled himself out of his kayak, found a footing on a submerged rock and held the log trapping his friend.

Fighting the roaring rapids he reached over and held Jamieson's head clear of the water so he could breathe. He did this for 15 minutes, while the water pounded his body.

At 12.30 he realised he would not be able hold on for much longer and decided to let his friend go and try to wrestle the kayak from the log's grasp.

He hoped Jamieson would also pop free from the rapids. Instead, while the kayak dislodged, Jamieson was sucked underwater and trapped against the log.

It was another 10 minutes before Kettering was able to finally dislodge Jamieson from the water's grasp. But it was too late. His body floated free of the rapid but remained underwater.

This week, almost three-and-a-half years later, the last formal inquiry into the fatal accident ended with the report from Nelson coroner Ian Smith.

The finding was expected: accidental drowning, and the coroner's five recommendations were low key.

Most emphasised the need for the polytech to constantly review and revise its safety procedures, and all had already been put in place between the accident and Monday's report. However, the inquest itself was long and, in parts, controversial.

Tim's mother Rosemary and Smith both referred to a "closed cartel" surrounding the kayaking industry, hindering the quest for answers about the young man's death.

The Maritime Safety Authority said it "sought the assistance of industry experts and whilst they were critical of the instruction or the actions of the official, they weren't prepared to assist in the prosecution itself".

Parts of the inquest were emotionally charged. During one heated exchange MSA chief investigator Captain Michael Eno made it clear he believed criticism of Whiteley in the MSA's report into the accident was deserved.

Whiteley had not kayaked that part of the river for more than a year and his only pre-trip check was to ask a fellow instructor if he should know about anything new on the river.

Addressing Brett Whiteley, Eno said angrily: "I think it was abysmal, your pre-trip planning, if that's all you did do ... I'm talking about your risk assessment when you asked one simple question."

Whiteley: "That wording of that question could have had a variety of answers. I would have worked depending on the answer."

Eno: "That one question ... that would have tragic consequences, Mr Whiteley."

Whiteley: "So can crossing the road, Mr Eno, and I bet you do that."

Eno: "But I'm still alive. Mr Jamieson is not."

Smith this week concluded Jamieson died of accidental drowning but said: "It must also be recorded and not overlooked that this is an outdoor white water river kayak course which has hazards as part of its attractiveness and therefore inherent risks for those who participate."

Groups within the industry agree. They also maintain there was never a "cartel" to hinder any investigation.

Tragedies happen in the great outdoors. One internationally renowned expert with 41 years' experience in paddling called Jamieson's accident "bad luck".

Paddlers say the real problems come after an accident, when the MSA becomes "either unable or unwilling to fulfil their obligations in regard to ensuring safety and actually enable people to learn from these incidents".

Speaking the day after the inquest adjourned, Robin Rutter-Bowman of the NZ Recreational Canoeing Association (NZRCA) told National Radio the group had been working with the MSA for more than a decade "to try and improve the quality of the investigations and the usefulness of the reports".

This week the organisation welcomed the completion of the coroner's inquest and supported the finding of accidental death, saying: "We hope that this will now enable all the parties affected by Tim Jamieson's death to move on. The NZRCA continues to work to improve safety in the kayaking community, and extends its condolences to family and all other parties affected by the tragedy."

Brett Whiteley remains out of the water, and works instead in Christchurch in the building industry.

Following Jamieson's death he handed in his New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association (NZOIA) qualifications, although the organisation had already decided to suspend him. The MSA said he was at fault for forgetting to warn the students of the log. Police investigated and although no charges were laid, the NZOIA suspension indicates the industry thinks Whiteley could have done better.

But Rosemary Jamieson believes there will now be no safer instructor on New Zealand rivers and she wishes him well at getting back into the industry.

"That was just his bad day."

His apology to her at the inquest "blew me away. He had such integrity ... The polytech still says they were not at fault".