Surfer who died at beach an 'inspiration'

Simon Camp, 47, died at Karioitahi Beach, 70km southwest of Auckland.

A surfer who died at a beach on Boxing Day has been described as an "inspiration" to other divers in his dive club.

Simon Camp, 47, died at Karioitahi Beach, 70km southwest of Auckland, while surfing on a board he reportedly received as a Christmas present.

He was pulled from the water by members of the public after he was spotted waving and yelling for help. Paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.

Mr Camp was a committee member of the Botany Bottom Scratchers Dive Club, and was been praised on the club's Facebook page as a "lover of the ocean".

Today, club member Ross Ferraby paid tribute to his dive buddy who he described as a generous and trustworthy man, who was an "inspiration" to other divers, particularly those new to the sport.

Mr Camp was well experienced in and on the water, he said, as a diver, surfer and a skipper, who would take less experienced divers under his wing.

"He was an inspiration, especially to the divers who hadn't done a lot of diving," Mr Ferraby said.

"He would be the first to stand up and want to buddy-up with those who were inexperienced and lead them and encourage them. He was a good inspiration to other divers as well, not just inexperienced divers."

The well-liked and respected committee member would "encourage other divers to get out there and do a lot more diving", Mr Ferraby said.

Mr Camp was also a keen photographer, which Mr Ferraby described as his "passion", and would share his underwater snaps and videos with the club.

"He certainly put a lot of time and effort into the club...He really gave the club a lot of his time."

Mr Ferraby had spoken to other members of the dive club who were very upset at Mr Camp's death, he said.

"As a club we're obviously very upset, and a lot of the club members have very fond memories of being his diving buddy."

He later said: "I will miss him dearly, as will the rest of the club."

The two had a lot of fun together diving and "talking about our dives afterwards in the pub", Mr Ferraby said.

"He was just the kind of bloke who was extremely generous with his time and always there for other people, especially with his diving."

Mr Ferraby described Mr Camp as a "very capable and able swimmer, a water person".

"I don't know what went wrong, but I don't think it was anything to do with his abilities in the water, that's for sure."

Yesterday club president Roger Silcock posted a tribute to Mr Camp on the club's Facebook page, saying it was "with a heavy heart" that he broke the news to the members.

In a death notice, which referenced the nickname 'Mr Fixit', his family described him as a "dearly loved" brother and son, who would be missed by his mother and brother.

A service will be held at Harvest Christian Church, Papakura, on December 31.