Enchanter wreck recovered by investigators after five killed in tragedy

The wreck of fishing vessel the Enchanter has been recovered by investigators almost a month after the tragedy of its sinking cost five men their lives.

Ten men were on the fishing charter which came to a tragic end on March 20 when the ship sank in the rough waters off Manawatāwhi-Three Kings.

Five of those men - Richard Bright, 63, Mike Lovett, 72, Geoffrey Allen, 72, Mark Walker, 41, and Mark Sanders, 43 – would not return.

An attempt to salvage the wreck failed in the days after it capsized and the vessel's partly-submerged hull sank as it was being towed to sheltered waters.

But what's left of the boat has now been recovered by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission and is being stored in a secure location, a spokesperson told the Herald.

The reported picture of the Enchanter. Photo / Martyn Porter

The Enchanter fishing boat during the salvage operation. Photo / TAIC

Wreckage of the Enchanter fishing boat floats on the surface of the ocean off the Northland coast. Photo / Supplied

The Enchanter was heading back to Mangōnui after a three-day fishing charter that one member of the group was looking forward to as "the trip of a lifetime".

MetService had issued an "orange warning" for the 24-hour period in which Enchanter was set to return to Mangōnui, meaning the weather was rough with high winds, and rain.

An emergency beacon was activated around 8pm from southeast of North Cape which was picked up by the Rescue Coordination Centre, and the Northern Rescue Helicopter was called to action around 8.40pm and took off from Whangārei about 10pm.

Lance Donnelly, a pilot of 30 years, would later that evening say it was "the most extreme, most challenging rescue I've ever done".

Mike Lovett of Cambridge died in the sinking of the charter fishing vessel Enchanter. Photo / Supplied

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission's chief investigator Harald Hendel said last month that interviews with survivors of the sinking had begun. He would not say who among the five survivors had been interviewed but said the inquiry into the accident which cost five lives was well under way.

TAIC is one of three - and possibly four - bodies investigating the tragic end to a fishing trip seen by many anglers as the trip of a lifetime.

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

Richard Bright of Cambridge is one of the five people who lost their lives after the Enchanter sank. Photo / Supplied

Unlike the other organisations, which have prosecution powers, TAIC's primary drive is to carry out a "lessons learned" investigation to prevent similar tragedies occurring.

Maritime NZ and police are also carrying out inquiries and might yet be joined by WorkSafe.

Hendel - not speaking about Enchanter but generally - said: "I'm sure that something like this would rest on that person the rest of their life."

Hendel said it was a reminder for anyone commanding a craft to keep a constant watch on safety. Those skippers who had suffered losses on craft they commanded found themselves asking "what could I have done - what could I have done better", he said.

Double Tragedy for one family, Mark Walker and Geoffrey Allen from Cambridge, both died after the Enchanter capsized. Photo / Supplied