KEY POINTS:
Grieving mother Jenny Wyatt had stern words for her missing son Damian yesterday morning.
As searchers began their final day of hunting for the 35-year-old fisherman's body after his ship was wrecked in last weekend's storm, Jenny spoke to Damian in no uncertain terms.
"I told him to stop mucking around," she told the Herald on Sunday from her Tauranga home. "I said 'help them find you, you little bugger'."
But police rescuers found only two lifejackets yesterday, ending the official search for Damian.
It was heartbreaking for the family but Jenny said she knew her son "wouldn't have wanted to go any other way".
Damian had always wanted to be a commercial fisherman. He was part of the crew on the Sanford-owned San Cuvier when it was hit by a storm in the early hours of last Sunday morning.
Two fishermen were rescued and skipper Rick Joseph's body was found off the Opotiki coast that day.
Sergeant Andrew O'Reilly, who led the search for Damian's body, wanted to bring the fisherman home to his family.
"It would give them closure and a chance to grieve for him."
O'Reilly said the four men on board had found a safe haven on the Saturday night but the wind turned and the boat dragged its anchor on to the rocks.
"That's when it all turned to custard for them... I was out there nine hours after the incident and I would describe the sea as absolutely treacherous."
Jenny said her son was used to difficult conditions at sea. From the age of 10 he would go out on charter boats, tying long-line hooks for fishermen.
"He would get landsick like we would get seasick - he could stand being on shore only for a week or two at the most."
Damian was involved in a maritime emergency off Northland a year ago, when his boat the Mana Rose was wrecked. He never bought another, but worked for others, and last Saturday was filling in for a friend who was at a tangi.
Jenny said: "I just hope it was really quick for him."
His body was spotted in the water by helicopter crew but when a paramedic was winched down to retrieve him, a wave washed Damian out of the harness.
"I had much rather that they saved the paramedic," said Jenny. "They had already ascertained Damian had gone."
Without his body, Jenny said the family would have to sit down together to decide what would be done. She said she hadn't said goodbye "because to me he's always here so I don't need to".
Last week, she washed the clothes police had retrieved from the boat. "All his clothes stank of fish," she laughed.
"He always knew mum would growl him about his washing... he would always say 'Muuumm - I haven't had time to do the washing'."
