Wife knew Port Chalmers death was her husband

Greeka, the yacht at Deborah Bay owned by Murray Double, who was found in the bay on Tuesday night. Photo / Otago Daily Times

Antje van der Linden knew who died in Deborah Bay this week when her "honest and kind" husband of 35 years did not answer his phone.

Murray Double was named by police yesterday as the man who died suddenly at Deborah Bay north of Port Chalmers on Tuesday about 5.20pm.

Van der Linden said she knew immediately it was her 68-year-old husband who had died when she read about the death on the Otago Daily Times website.

Double had been late for dinner which was out of character. She tried ringing his phone, but the call went to a message, saying the call could not be connected.

The news was awful, she said.

She described her husband as a quiet man who was honest, straightforward and kind.

He always helped his neighbours and enjoyed family.

For many years Double worked as a mechanical engineer, including at Scott Technology, and helping to set up Datum Engineering, before retiring last year.

Double was born in Southland and had moved around before settling in Dunedin in the early 1980s.

He was dedicated to his interests and had come to boating after being involved in flying gliders and tramping.

Double made the front page of the Otago Daily Times in April 2004, when his earlier yacht sank off the coast of Moeraki.

At the time, Double promised he would return to sailing and his most recent boat, Greeka, had been kept at Deborah Bay, where he was found in the water.

It was presumed he had slipped, but it was possible he had a medical event, van der Linden said.

It was not clear if he had been on the wharf or Greeka before he fell into the water, she said.