'It's all right' - drowning dad's last words to son

Mosese Vahai, 19, had to leave his father, Mosese Snr, in the water and make a 45-minute swim for his life after their fishing trip turned to disaster. Photo / Alan Gibson

A father of seven calmly told his teenage son, "It's all right", and ordered him to leave him in the water before he drowned in a fishing tragedy on Tauranga Harbour.

Nineteen-year-old Mosese Vahai is still coming to terms with his decision to abandon his father - also named Mosese - and swim for his life after their dinghy was swamped and sunk by a huge wave shortly before 8pm on Wednesday.

But yesterday, he said there was nothing he could have done to save him.

The body of 56 -year-old Mosese Snr was found yesterday off the Matapihi Peninsula after an all-night search by coastguard and rescue helicopter crews.

The evening began as a simple outing to set fishing nets at Oruamatua Point.

"It was pretty rough when we put the net out, then it all just happened in a matter of seconds," a grieving and exhausted Mosese Jnr told the Herald at his Merivale home yesterday.

"We were backing out when the wave came straight into the back of the boat. I hadn't seen anything like it."

The small boat capsized and sank, and the two men held on to each other for warmth as they floated in the water. Neither was wearing a life jacket.

"We were trying to cuddle each other and I tried to take his jersey off. After about 10 minutes, he told me to try to get to the shore. He said, 'It's all right, carry on, just go'," he said.

"I almost had to give up, too. I tried to do everything I could do, but when he told me to go, I knew it was better for one of us to go under than for both of us to go under. It was a pretty hard thing to do."

Mr Vahai said he swam for a few minutes and turned around to see his father's head bobbing just above the water.

"I turned to look at him but he just told me to carry on again. His head was above the water and he looked like he wanted to turn face-up. He was quite calm."

Mr Vahai called to his father when he reached water shallow enough for him to stand in.

"I called his name 20 times but he wouldn't answer back. I knew what had happened."

Exhausted from swimming for 45 minutes in the darkness, Mr Vahai eventually reached the shore and tried to flag down passing cars, but none stopped.

"It was dark and I couldn't see very far. I was thinking to myself, 'I'm going to drop any minute but I've got to walk as far as I can'."

He found a home near Maungatapu Marae with its lights on and raised the alarm.

All the while, his little brother was waiting in a car near the marae, from where they had launched the boat.

As a search started, Mr Vahai and his family maintained a vigil on a clifftop above the area where the family's boat had sunk.

Mr Vahai described his father, a kiwifruit orchard worker, as an "awesome man" who loved fishing and fixing cars. He had lived in Tauranga since he was 18.

Family members were gathered at Mr Vahai's home yesterday afternoon.

Western Bay of Plenty police search and rescue co-ordinator Sergeant Craig Madden said it was unfortunate the search ended with the discovery of a body.

Mr Madden said it was imperative that people wear life jackets on the water, especially in small boats.

Water Safety NZ general manager Matt Claridge said not wearing life jackets had been a factor in at least 10 boating-related drownings this year.

"Yet, time and time again, we see that in the rush to enjoy the water, these most basic precautions are disregarded and what could havebeen a minor incident escalates into a tragedy."