Skipper berated over drowning

A skipper has been criticised by the Maritime Safety Authority after a woman drowned at Raglan in January.

Anna Ye, 41, died after the boat she was in, the Lucky No 5, capsized while trying to tow a stricken Stabicraft to safety on January 16.

An MSA report into the accident said it would not have happened had the Stabicraft's skipper, Rob McLean of Hamilton, not tried to cross the Raglan Bar in rough conditions.

The accident could also have been avoided if Mr McLean had left his boat and got on board the Lucky No 5, skippered by Raglan man Gun Lai.

Mr Lai had gone to the rescue of Mr McLean after his engine stalled and the boat began taking on water.

Mr Lai threw a line to Mr McLean and took a female passenger on board his boat but Mr McLean refused to leave it, believing it could be rescued.

Both vessels eventually capsized and Ms Ye - Mr Lai's cousin - was trapped under the upturned hull and was unconscious when she eventually surfaced. She died several days later in Waikato Hospital.

Mr Lai, who had earlier decided that conditions were too rough to try to cross the bar, was also criticised in the report for not ensuring everyone on his boat wore a lifejacket.

But he said he was carrying lifejackets and had told his passengers to wear them. "You can tell people what to do but if they then don't listen, what can you do?"

He said he had made sure the two non-swimmers on board his boat had lifejackets on, including Ms Ye.

The report said that when Ms Ye's body was recovered she was not wearing a lifejacket, but Mr Lai disputes that .

While the experience cost him his cousin, Mr Lai said he would still go to the aid of someone in trouble.

- NZPA