Truckies to fly black for Jack

Tauranga’s Kyle Quin has organised for truck drivers around the country to display a black ribbon for Jack Dixon. Photo / John Borren

Black ribbons will be seen flying from truck aerials all around the country for Jack Dixon.

Tauranga's Kyle Quin, like many other people in the community, wanted to do what he could to show his support for the family of Jack Dixon who was swept out to sea on Wednesday.

Mr Quin, a truck driver with Halls Transport, got in touch with his truckie friends and organised a show of support, asking drivers to display a black ribbon from their CB aerials.

Jack Dixon.

"I've got kids of my own and I've just go no words to tell how I feel for that family. The little fella with his All Blacks gear on just touched all of us.

"We see all these car accidents and stuff all the time but this was a freak accident."

The truckies will also be shaking buckets with Jack's picture on them for donations at key loading and unloading points such as the Port of Tauranga and the Mount Maunganui Wharf.

"You get to know a lot of truckies when you're on the road and there's a whole lot of us that want to do something for Jack and his family.

"The support I've got from truckies all over the country for this has blown me away. I've already had guys putting $50 notes in the buckets."

Through Facebook, emails and face-to-face conversations, Mr Quin said he expected most truckies in New Zealand would know about the plans to support Jack and his family.

Mr Quin said six or seven big rig trucks would drive as close as they could get to the Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service on Saturday morning about 9am to deliver the collected funds to the family. "We're just getting what we can for them.

Meanwhile, patrols looking for Jack have dropped to once a day.

Eastern Region Surf Lifesaving manager Leigh Sefton said for the rest of this week Surf Lifesaving would continue running shoreline patrols from Mount Maunganui to Papamoa and a water patrol in and around Mauao, Matakana Island, Rabbit Island and Leisure Island.

The patrols will happen first thing in the morning, he said.

The local surf clubs would be out training regularly and Mr Sefton said these people would be on the look-out at all times.

"Realistically, we couldn't keep going at that level.

"This is not to say we're not going to keep on looking and the public will still be involved as well.

"Now we've just got to wait until the sea is ready to give him back."

Western Bay of Plenty police acting area commander Inspector Karl Wright-St Clair said members of the police dive team were travelling to Tauranga yesterday with a view to searching the area today or tomorrow if the weather allowed it.

An extensive land search operation would be conducted at Matakana Island today.