Stepdaughter's emotional tribute to jet boat racer

Duayne Insley (inset) of Glenorchy was killed in a jet boat accident on the Waimakariri River at the weekend. Photo / Supplied

The stepdaughter of a Kiwi killed in an accident in Canterbury has thanked him for helping shape who she is.

Duayne Insley died on the Waimakariri River on Sunday morning while racing at the World Championship Jetboat Marathon.

Insley had been navigating the course on a CX21 boat, on the second day of the week- long competition. Racing was brought to a halt following the accident and all racing today was cancelled as a mark of respect.

Insley was killed when he was struck by a log overhanging a channel of water, Fairfax reported.

His stepdaughter Casey Irvine wrote a message on Facebook thanking her stepdad for being himself and for making "my mum the happiest I've ever seen her".

"The 'step' in stepdad implies you were somehow less of a dad to me than my own because you arrived a little late. Well I know for sure this is not the case", she wrote.

"Thank you for being in our lives, you'll be missed more than you could know."

An old friend of Insley, Dick Watson, is also remembering the 47-year-old as an easy going guy who was well-liked in the community.

The pair met in Glenorchy when they were both in their 20s, when Watson was working on the local fire station where Insley volunteered as a firefighter.

Watson had grown up in the town while Insley had only recently moved there. But his friend said he fitted right in.

"Duayne was just one of those fellas. He was a true bloody Glenorchy-ite or a Kiwi bloke, as someone's already referred to him as.

"You know, he started off down there and he's just worked away and stuck at everything. He would give you the shirt off his back, the fella would - when he first come here, he hardly had his shirt on his back, I believe."

Watson said Glenorchy was a small community where everyone knew each other.

"He married Deana and I must say our hearts here in Glenorchy go out to Deana and that family. It's just so tragic."

Tributes were also flowing in from the international jet boat racing community.

Oregon-based group Epic Motorsports has spoken out about the accident on Facebook, sending condolences to Insley's family and friends.

"We are thinking of you from across the pond," he said.

Insley operated a horse-trekking business with his wife, Deana Insley.

On the pair's company website, High Country Horses, Deana Insley described how he proposed to her in Monaco when picking up a trophy for a jet boating world title, which she said was his passion.

"He loves to race jet boats as a sport, having picked up two New Zealand Champion titles plus a world title last year", she said.

NZJBRRA spokesman Paul Mullan said event organisers decided at a meeting on Sunday night that racing would commence on Tuesday.

"We're putting in an extra leg on the Waitaki on Wednesday in place of the two legs cancelled on Monday," Mullan said.

In an earlier post on the association's Facebook page the group said details of exactly what happened were still under investigation, which was now being headed by the police.