But Talleys Westport-based West Coast manager Kerry Paterson said he spoke to Mr Ecklund via radio at 7am.
"He (Mr Ecklund) said the bar was not looking flash and I said that there was no need to come in because he could unload later, the truck was not arriving until 11 (am)," Mr Paterson said.
"He said that he'd come in and have a look (at the bar), and that was the last I heard of him."
The inquest heard yesterday that after being tipped out of the boat, Mr Ecklund treaded water in the mouth of the Grey River for 16 minutes waiting for a rescue that never eventuated.
The transcript of the police communications log detailing the response from police and rescue services showed that police had cars on the way to both tipheads within two minutes of the 111 call and arrived on site two minutes later. However, it was at least about 12 minutes into the operation before the West Coast Rescue Helicopter took flight from the Greymouth aerodrome.
After 15 minutes it was reported by police on the tiphead that Mr Ecklund was "getting real close to the rocks and going under".
The next contact a minute later was: "He's doing all right but he's struggling, though" and at 16mins it was: "He's unconscious in the water, upside down". At 18mins Cobden man Steve Newby dived into the water and recovered the body.
Crewman Jethro Carson gave a harrowing account of the three men being trapped in the upturned boat's cabin.
During the bar crossing he had watched the stern as three big swells built up but went under the boat without breaking. He then noticed a big wave approaching and counted down its arrival "4-3-2-1" to the skipper. When the wave hit, the boat listed heavily to the port side.
Mr Carson said he thought the vessel would right itself, but next minute it was upside down.
"We were standing on the roof (of the wheelhouse), I was trying to get the door open, diesel was pouring in like rain and the main engine was still running but there was a drum of oil jamming the door," he said.
Eventually, he managed to force the door open and all three ended up in the water. Mr Carson helped pull Mr Ecklund, who was lethargic and out of breath, up on to the upturned hull.
"I said 'we have to get off this' but Nick said, 'no, stick with it until we can't stick with it any more'. Joe (Campbell) and I had just grabbed a life ring when a wave swept us off one side and Nick down the other."
Mr Carson said they tried to paddle to the skipper but were at the mercy of the currents, which took them in different directions; they ended up on the rocks and Mr Ecklund floated around the tiphead.
Mr Carson did not know his skipper used cannabis and, in answer to the coroner, said there was no pressure from Talleys, either implicit or implied, to cross at low tide.
Maritime Safety investigator Domonic Venz said Mr Ecklund was known to be a cautious skipper who did not push the limits, but in this instance he erred and did not follow best practice by crossing the bar when it was at its most dangerous, low tide.
A toxicology report showed that there was no alcohol in Mr Ecklund's blood but there were traces of cannabis. The toxicologist said it was likely that the cannabis had been consumed on board the boat because the men had been at sea for six days and traces probably would not have been present in the blood had the cannabis been taken before their departure.
- The Greymouth Star
