A surfer who died at Aramoana at the weekend has been remembered by family and friends as a devoted father, a DJ and a jack-of-all-trades. Photo / Givealittle
A surfer who died at Aramoana at the weekend has been remembered by family and friends as a devoted father, a DJ and a jack-of-all-trades.
Jamie Civil died in the water at the 35th annual Herb and Paro Memorial Surf competition, on Saturday.
His sister, Tash Civil, said she was surfing at the next beach up the coast when she got a call telling her to come to Aramoana.
When she arrived she "just knew" he was gone.
She remembered him as "the most humble, kind and generous little brother", who looked out for everyone
He was her best friend and the pair surfed together.
Tributes had poured in from the different sectors where Civil had made an impression — as a surfer, a DJ and a builder.
People looked up to him and he never took it for granted.
He was a jack-of-all-trades who was good at everything he tried, Civil said.
She had only happy memories of the man she described as the rock of the whole family.
Seeing him with his baby daughter Lenni was both the most proud she had seen him and the most proud she had been of him.
Thomas Price, of Auckland, a longtime friend of Civil, said there was no-one he had spent more time with.
He started a Givealittle page so Civil's partner would be able to focus on being a parent to their 6-month-old daughter.
The outpouring of support was incredible and had almost reached its "pretty lofty" target of $50,000 in the day it had been up.
Another Givealittle set up by the South Coast Boardriders Association had raised $47,000 over the same period.
The level of support spoke volumes about Civil's character.
He and Civil had founded a building business and anything that needed to be done, he would do it, from organising subtrades to picking up a paintbrush. He was always there to lend a hand.
He had heard Civil caught an enormous wave and his board leash had broken.
That meant rescuers could not find Civil by looking for his board and it took seven minutes to find him, he said.
Price's father, Ross, worked with Civil for 14 years, taking him on as an apprentice at age 18, and described him as an adopted son.
He was a conscientious builder but it was understood that if it was a nice day he would be out surfing, he said.
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The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.