The Pacific Invader brought the body of the fifth person to shore at Houhora. Video / Supplied
The five Waikato men who tragically died on a charter fishing trip off North Cape have been named.
Cambridge men Richard Bright, 63, Mike Lovett, 72, Geoffrey Allen, 72, Mark Walker, 41, and 43-year-old Mark Sanders from Te Awamutu all died when the boat they were in suddenly capsized on Sunday night.
The fifth and final missing body was found yesterday.
Police are continuing to provide support to their families, as well as to the survivors of this tragedy, a police statement said. It also offered its deepest condolences to the victims' families.
Post-mortem examinations for some of the men who died started yesterday and are continuing today.
The deaths will be referred to the Coroner and Police are continuing to make inquiries into the incident on behalf of the Coroner.
Meanwhile family and friends are devastated after their husbands, fathers and mates died on a charter fishing trip to the Three Kings Islands.
Bright was the publican at the Cambridge bar Group One Turf Bar and long-time friend Rick Williams caught up with him for a beer last Tuesday night just before he headed off for Mangōnui. He had also just seen Lovett who worked at his thoroughbred stud farm near Cambridge.
Mike Lovett of Cambridge died in the sinking of the charter fishing vessel Enchanter. Photo / Supplied
"They had been [to the Three Kings islands] once and it was Richard's wish to hook a marlin. He hadn't got one [previously]. He had caught every other form of fish, so this is why he went again this year to go and get a marlin," Williams said.
But he was unsure whether Bright and Lovett fulfilled their dream that was shattered when it is understood a large wave broke the bridge of the boat they were on.
Mike Lovett, a father of four, was a handyman at The Oaks Stud in Cambridge, where he had worked for 16 years. He had a horse-racing syndicate named after him - Lovettitorleaveit - and friends have paid their respect to a man who loved golf, racing and fishing - especially the fishing.
The group had planned the five-day fishing charter trip to the Three Kings islands for months.
Ten people were on board when the Enchanter sank amid rough seas near Murimotu Island at about 11pm on Sunday.
Five, including the vessel's skipper Lance Goodhew and Piarere local Ben Stinson, were among those rescued by the Northland emergency rescue helicopter.
Four bodies were recovered on Monday as a large-scale air and water search continued on Tuesday until the fifth body was found.
It is understood the fifth person was found inside the hull, which dive squad members had been assessing yesterday afternoon after the wreck was found on Monday.
Bright's daughter Jess Short told Newshub her father had been "one of a kind".
"Our hearts go out to everyone that has survived, they have lived through it."
His wife Brenda also said she was overwhelmed with community support for her "larger-than-life character of a husband".
"He loved ribbing people and they loved it, and he was generous to the core … he would give you the shirt off his back. He had a lot of hobbies," she told Newshub.
"We were getting to the time of life where we wanted to do things for ourselves."
Donna Bennett, who has worked at the Group One Turf Bar for 12 years, told the Herald Bright "was the best boss you could ever ask for".
Mark Sanders of Te Awamutu has been named as one of five men who lost their lives when the charter fishing vessel Enchanter sank. Photo / Supplied
She said Bright held an annual fundraising day for the local fire brigade at the Turf Bar.
"Richard was just a humble guy, and he didn't want any publicity about it, he just wanted to give back to the community," she said, adding he had gifted her a trip to Rarotonga as a bonus.
Bright had owned the bar in the centre of Cambridge for 21 years.
"He's going to be so missed here. He was a really good guy. So humble. Would help anyone," Bennett said.
Sanders, a father-of-three and Te Awamutu builder, was also a victim taken by the sea.
Speaking to 1 News, Sanders' son Ali was sad his father was gone but said he was glad he had been "doing something he loved".
Daughter Reese Sanders told Newshub her father had been talking about the trip for months.
"He was saying after the trip he would come home and finish our house, stop drinking and go on a diet. All the things he was going to do … he was so excited."
Reese said she was "so looking forward to having him back and saying our last goodbyes".
"He would do anything for us, so that's what we need to do for him now."
Richard Bright of Cambridge is one of the five people who lost their lives after the Enchanter sank. Photo / Supplied
Mark's father Graeme said: "For us the most relieving thing, he is not lost ... they found him. That's some consolation."
Gael Sanders, Mark's mum, told the Herald on Monday her son was having the time of his life on the trip before Sunday.
"He had spoken to his family at around 6pm [on Sunday] night. He has a wife and three children and was having such a wonderful time and just so happy. He'd caught some amazing fish and it was the best time of his life."
Sanders loved fishing and often went out with his dad in Kawhia Harbour, Gael said.
"The only nice thing is, we're so happy that they've actually found his body. That's very special. I hate to think of him out there on his own."
Search efforts, led by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Maritime NZ, have now concluded, after Enchanter first sent out a distress signal just after 8pm on Sunday.
Westpac Rescue Helicopter staff Aaron Knight and Casey Drum were among those scouring the ocean yesterday as the search for the final missing person continued.
Paramedic Casey Drum (left) and pilot Aaron Knight joined the search for the victims and survivors. Photo / Adam Pearse
Knight, a co-pilot, left Auckland early on Monday morning, flying up through Auckland's torrential rain before spending hours looking for the Enchanter's hull - where it was suspected one of the occupants might still be inside.
"Overall, it just made for a really long day by the time we got airborne, got going, started searching in several different locations, found debris, the hull, the flybridge," Knight said.
Throughout Monday, Knight and his crew recovered two bodies, winching them up from the Navy vessel that had picked them up from the local boatie who had found them.
Knight said the discovery of the hull yesterday by a Skywork helicopter brought much relief to the search-and-rescue crew.
"We were starting to feel like maybe it had sunk or something."
Fortunately, conditions were favourable on Monday with little wind and relatively calm waters.
Yesterday was a different story, with stronger winds making visibility poor as any objects in the water were masked by white caps.
It was those stronger conditions which meant search and rescue crews were forced to locate the hull again after it had blown about 15km south of its position the day before.
Across the two days, Knight had seen the trail of destruction left by the Enchanter.
"We saw everything yesterday, from structures of the boat to small pieces of life rings, the occasional lifejacket, shopping bags, even a packet of chicken chips."
Despite the grief attached to such a job, Knight said he was glad to give the families some closure.
"For me, it's knowing that you've managed to get someone back to their family, that's the positive.
"That's really powerful, you get a bit of a kick out of that."
In his seven years with the rescue helicopter, Knight hadn't seen an operation of this magnitude, which featured multiple agencies, and an initial search area of 518sq km.
He sent his deepest condolences to the families involved, and also to the Northland community, who he felt would take time to recover.
"Mostly the boaties are in pretty good spirits on the radio but you wonder what's going on in the back of their minds when it's their fellow sailors, it must bring it home for them."
Some of the families and friends of those who had died had stayed at the rescue base at the Te Pua Reserve campground in anticipation of more news.
Drum, a critical care paramedic, said interacting with those whānau emphasised how tragic such an incident was.
"It's always tinged with a bit of sadness, especially when you meet people for whom it's quite close to home," he said.
"It sort of humanises it I guess, you're not as far removed anymore."
He credited the local iwi who had superbly fed all search and rescue staff over the time they had occupied the Far North site.
