Inquest into double drowning 12 years on

A coroner's inquest has been held into the deaths of two men off the Kapiti Coast in 1999. Photo / Supplied

A Kapiti man cried out "Janice, I love you'' as he slipped under the water, never to be seen again.

Jack Webber, 49, and Hamish Kronfield, 35, are presumed to have drowned after their boat sank near Kapiti Island almost 12 years ago.

Friend Timothy Evans spoke calmly of Mr Webber's last words at a coroner's inquest into their deaths in Wellington today.

The inquest, before Coroner Gary Evans, comes after police passed the missing person's file to the coroner in June this year.

Mr Webber, who was arrested on drugs and firearms charges in 1995, drowned near his $500,000 home on Motungarara Island.

Mr Evans told the inquest he had been retrieving a net with the two men and another friend, John Burnell, from a boat near Mr Webber's home on the afternoon of May 18, 1999.

The boat started sinking when the net became tangled in the motor as the men struggled to haul it in against the tide, he said.

"The boat sank in seconds. It went down like it was doomed.''

None of the men were wearing life jackets or had an emergency radio.

Mr Evans and Mr Burnell decided to swim for nearby Tokomapuna Island but returned to help Mr Webber remove his heavy clothing.

"Jack was in a state of panic. Jack was yelling: 'For Christ's sake help me get my neoprene suit off'.''

The men spent 10-20 minutes helping him remove the suit, but by then the boat had drifted away from the island.

They clung onto the boat and tried to keep it buoyant as it drifted for two hours towards Tahoramaurea Island.

When the boat reached the northeast end of the island, Mr Kronfield said he would swim the 45m or so to the island.

" told him that he was a bloody fool and that we should stick together as we had more chance of being picked up as a group,'' Mr Evans said.

After hearing a dog barking from the island, Mr Kronfield again decided to swim for the island, still dressed in jeans and a jersey.

Mr Webber decided to follow.

Mr Webber, who Mr Evans said disliked the water and was not a strong swimmer, got about 20m before he yelled out, "Tim, save me.''

"I told him to relax as he was splashing around and to float on his back,'' Mr Evans said.

He then cried out the name of his partner, Janice Shelden.

"He yelled out `Janice, I love you, Janice, I love you' and then slid under.''

Mr Evans did not see him or Mr Kronfield again.

Mr Evans and Mr Burnell continued to cling to the boat until they were rescued by Mr Webber's cousin, Manu, who spotted their stricken vessel and came out in his own boat to rescue them.

Members of both men's families, including Ms Shelden and Mr Kronfield's twin brother, Blair, were at Wellington District Court for the inquest, which is continuing.