Searcher 'left us to die'

The skipper of a small boat who was left floating in the sea for 17 hours - while a teenage companion drowned - has slammed a search official, saying the crew were left in the ocean "to die".

Duncan Powell has described his harrowing fight for survival after his boat was capsized by a freak wave off the Wanganui coast in February last year.

Geoffrey Hampton, 19, died in the arms of his father Alan, who, with Powell, were only found 11 hours after authorities became aware they were overdue.

In a report released on Friday, the coroner said a combination of errors by police, Wanganui Coastguard and the three fishermen led to Hampton's death.

Coroner Carla na Nagara found that police failed to follow best practice in their search and rescue operation. Only one policeman headed the search for the men after 10 other members of the Wanganui search and rescue team could not be raised to help in the search.

Nagara said the police incident controller, a police senior constable, held ultimate responsibility for the search but lacked experience in night searches and qualified help.

There was also a lack of inter-agency training and a "subculture of poor/distrustful relationships" between the local agencies.

The incident controller had decided not to put up a plane at night because it was assumed the boat was still afloat, and they were not looking for people in the water.

It wasn't widely known but an RNZAF Iroquois may have been able to help in the search and was available on the night.

The coroner also found the boat did not carry an emergency locator beacon and that the men's lifejackets were unsuitable for open waters. They tried to swim to shore which hadn't helped them conserve energy.

But Powell said the coroner had "missed the point".

He said instead of ordering a night search, the controller had gone home, showered and had a meal. "If only he did his job ... I think that we were left there to die."

The controller was removed from the search and rescue team after the incident for retraining at the police college. Police have acknowledged the search "was not to the standard" they would expect.

This is cold comfort for Powell, who described Geoffrey Hampton as his close mate, who he misses sharing a whisky or beer, and a laugh. He is haunted by the time of his death. "I wake up every morning at 4am on the dot. It is part of my day now, I wake up and watch the clock ticking from 3.59 to 4am and I think of Geoff - every day.

"Losing someone you love is hard enough but losing someone like that was totally unnecessary and throughout the night there was plenty of opportunity to put things back on track. [The incident controller] went home. Is that the responsible attitude of someone who is patrolling search and rescue?"

He said if the controller had done his research, he would have known the boat had an anchor, VHF radio, a cellphone and flares on board.

"Anyone ... would take from that information [that] if they aren't using that equipment, the logical reason is because they are not on the boat."

After Geoff died in his father's arms, the other men were not prepared to lose him. They clung to his body until they were found.

"I would say to Alan the sun will be up soon mate ... the sun will be up soon," said Powell, crying. "But it was at sunrise that I thought they haven't got us now and I felt the sun on my face and I knew that I couldn't do any more for myself. And it was at that point I came to the conclusion I was not going to make it and I left it up to God."



Nagara said changes also needed to be made to the Wanganui Coastguard operating procedure as there was a time delay in getting details about the missing boat and men.

A combination of factors led to Hampton's death but if the boaties had carried emergency personal locator beacons Hampton would have had a much greater chance of surviving, she said.

The coroner endorsed recommendations in the Maritime NZ report and the police peer review report.

She made six recommendations:

It should be compulsory for boaties to carry emergency locator beacons.

The Wanganui Coastguard operating procedure for overdue boats be amended so that if trip reports are not closed within two hours of dusk, that time is of the essence in establishing whether boaties are overdue.

Boaties be educated about what can happen if trip reports are not closed.

Central Districts police review its arrangement regarding police officers who are Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers so that the incident controller can have a team of at least two trained SAR officers.

Police appoint an family liaison officer for every SAR operation.

There should be a review of information highlighting the importance of using the correct lifejacket so it is easily understood.

- NZPA