All Black recalls long blond hair

By Alison Horwood

WELLINGTON - An All Black giving evidence at the Scott Watson trial said he saw long blond hair billowing in the wind at the back of a boat with round portholes.

Greg Feek told the High Court at Wellington yesterday that he noticed the boat when he was fishing from the stern of Sweet Release, near Cannibal Cove, at the northern end of Queen Charlotte Sound, on January 2, 1998.

Sweet Release's owners, Edward and Eyvonne Walsh, who were also on board, have given evidence that the boat, which was heading towards Cook Strait, was a blue and white ketch with portholes and a couple had been huddled on board.

The Crown says there is no compelling evidence that the ketch exists, and that water taxi driver Guy Wallace instead dropped Olivia Hope and Ben Smart at Watson's sloop, Blade.

Watson, aged 28, denies murdering the couple on or about January 1 last year.

Mr Feek said he saw the boat from 150m away. He could not recall whether it had one or two masts.

He could not even be sure if it was a yacht or launch. "But it didn't look like the one we were on, and that was a launch.

"I know a fishing boat and I know a speedboat, but I didn't know there were ketches or sloops before now."

He said he looked up from his fishing when one of the people he was with commented on the passing boat's portholes.

"One of the guys asked me what they [the portholes] were for, and I said they were for fishing out of when it was raining," he said amid a giggle in the courtroom.

Crown prosecutor Mark Davies: How big were [the portholes]?

Mr Feek: Big enough to put a fishing rod through.

The Christchurch-based witness said there appeared to be one person at the back of the boat, but he did not know whether it was male or female.

He noticed long, wavy hair that was blowing in the wind.

Under cross-examination from defence counsel Mike Antunovic, Mr Feek agreed that all he really noticed were the round portholes and the blond hair.

Mr Antunovic: So this vessel going past may have had two masts but you didn't look at it long enough to take it in.

Mr Feek: Yeah.