Sea tragedy skipper faces retrial

The skipper of a fishing vessel who lost his deckhand when the boat sank in bad weather faces a retrial on charges of taking unnecessary risks.

A jury was unable to agree on verdicts after a week-long trial at the Auckland District Court.

Allen (Archie) Wilkings, 39, of Pt Chevalier, was washed to his death when the St Peter sank in gale-to-storm force winds in the Colville Channel, between Coromandel and Great Barrier Island, in January 2003.

The boat's master, Antony Andrew Hodgson, 33, also of Pt Chevalier, managed to clamber on to a life raft and was rescued the following day after drifting to Mangawhai Heads.

Hodgson was on trial accused of causing unnecessary risks to his crewman and to the St Peter.

Prosecutor David Colbert told a jury that instead of taking shelter in Tryphena Harbour, Hodgson decided he needed to catch more fish.

He said mariners from Great Barrier had described the seas as "ugly" and said it was "ludicrous" to go out in them.

But Hodgson's lawyer, Paul David, told the jury they had to decide whether the line had been crossed.

They had to bear in mind the scope of risks associated with the job of a commercial fisherman.

Hodgson had been out in similar conditions on many occasions.

While the trip might have been abnormal for recreational boaties, it was not abnormal for a commercial fisherman, Mr David said.