Brian Currie says he is now “homeless” after the boat he was living on sank in Pilot Bay.
The 55-year-old, nicknamed Mozz, was staying with friends last Monday night after a strong wind watch was issued for the region.
He had been to check on his boat, named Hauraki, and everything seemed “fine” but when he went to check on it the following morning he found it had sunk.
Water was lapping up against the windows, he said.
“I thought: ‘Oh my God, that’s my boat’. I stripped off and swam out to it.
“Everything inside was just floating, all of my clothes.”
Currie, who was staying with friends, said he said he managed to salvage some of his belongings, such as clothing.
“I have lost my home. I am going to be homeless,” he said.
Currie, a former bricklayer and commercial fisherman who is currently unemployed, said he had bought the boat for $8000 about seven months ago and planned to restore it.
“I was going to do it up.”
He said the boat was about 130 years old and made out of kauri, he said.
Currie, who had been living on the boat, said he thought he had permission to keep it on a mooring opposite Matapihi marae near Second Ave but later found out he did not. He said he was on his way to Pilot Bay when his gearbox “blew out”.
He said he was towed to a Harbour Master emergency mooring but with the strong winds and currents, he did not feel safe. Currie moved to another mooring, which he believed he had gained permission from the owner to be at, in the front of Pilot Bay.
The boat sunk on Tuesday last week, with authorities at the time saying high winds likely contributed to the sinking of the vessel.
A strong wind watch was in force for the Bay of Plenty west of Whakatāne, including Rotorua and Coromandel, at the time.
Currie said he had spent the last few days trying to refloat the Hauraki but it was too damaged after hitting the sand when it hit the bottom.
“I tried my hardest with the resources and the money that I had.”
His friend Jason Cauty said a prayer before the boat was lifted off the beach on Monday. “RIP Hauraki,” he said.
“I am sad for his [Currie’s] loss.”
Bay of Plenty Regional Council deputy harbourmaster Daniel Rapson said they received a call from a member of the public reporting a boat sinking on its mooring on July 4.
Rapson said they had been working with the boat owner and had given him a “suitable” timeframe to refloat the boat.
However, he said, they had reached a point on Monday where the Harbour Master had to step in and remove the boat.
He said the boat had washed up so far up the beach and with smaller tides it was no longer feasible to tow it off the sand and was concerned if the boat would even stay afloat to be able to get it to the marina.
So they made the decision to use a crane to remove the boat from Pilot Bay and dispose of it, he said.
Rapson said they had been talking with Currie for a few months because he had nowhere to moor the boat. The boat was placed on the emergency mooring because of this, Rapson said.
Image 1 of 12: A small boat broke from its moorings and began to sink in Pilot Bay, Mount Maunganui. 04 July 2023 The Bay of Plenty Times Photo / Alex Cairns