KEY POINTS:
It must have been the longest night of Te Rua Toetoe's life.
While his four passengers huddled inside the cabin of Wait N Sea, the 47-year-old braved 55km/h winds, rain and 5m swells to make sure the boat did not capsize.
"The skipper on the boat was the strongest," Billy Mackie said.
"He stayed outside all night, just holding on to some rope to keep the boat balanced."
Mr Mackie, 49, said Mr Toetoe - the cousin whom he considers a brother - tied a rope from one side of the craft to the other, and used it to steady himself.
He also made sure no one got cold.
"It was pretty warm in the cabin because the skipper went to a lot of effort to make it warm by covering the cabin entrance, and he stayed outside in his wetsuit," Mr Mackie said.
Mr Toetoe's 13-year-old son, Te Kameta, said his father "looked after us pretty well".
"He stopped us from flipping and stopped us from getting cold."
At 6.30am yesterday, after the group had been pounded by the waves for more than 18 hours, Mr Mackie tried to convince Mr Toetoe to get some sleep.
"He had too much on his mind. [He wanted to] get the young ones home. We both did."
Mr Toetoe began weeping when he saw his waiting family as he came ashore.
His 23-year-old daughter, Rovina, was the first to greet her father, running to him and crying, "I love you Dad".
Later, after Mr Toetoe had received hugs and kisses from other family members, he said: "I feel happy. I've come home."
He then got down and kissed the ground.
