Soggy start for rookie fisherman

One minute, Harley Davis was on his first offshore commercial fishing voyage and quietly making a cup of tea for his skipper.

The next, the Christchurch 17-year-old was fighting for his life, scrambling out of a sinking fishing boat about 100 nautical miles off Cape Reinga.

Mr Davis was one of three crew members rescued on Sunday after the Owenga 1 was hit by a large wave just after midnight on Saturday.

He was making a cup of tea for skipper Shane McDowell when the 11.2m boat fishing for big-eye tuna was bowled over.

A third crew member, Brian Currie, was asleep when the wave hit.

As the boat filled with water, Mr Currie used a hammer to smash a window to escape and clamber into the life-raft.

Mr Davis said the experience had not put him off a career in the fishing industry.

"I'm definitely keen to get back out there," he said from aboard the rescue vessel and fishing boat Ikatere.

Mr McDowell, with 18 years' commercial fishing experience, said the Owenga 1 was sucked under the sea less than a minute after the wave struck.



"There wasn't time to be scared. I just grabbed the flares and had to swim under the water to release the life-raft from the roof.

"It was a matter of thinking how to survive."

The three men huddled together beneath survival blankets for warmth as rain and wind lashed the small life-raft.

An Air Force Orion plane was sent from Whenuapai and found the survivors about 4am on Sunday.

Before jumping overboard, Mr McDowell activated an electronic location beacon which helped the Orion find them.

Once the life-raft was found, another longline fishing boat in the area, the Ikatere, went to the scene and rescued cold and wet fishermen. They were taken to Whangaroa yesterday.

Mr McDowell said he hoped to be skippering another boat by the end of the week.

- NZPA

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