Two men could do little but watch as their fishing mate of 30 years slipped into the ocean after a boat had run aground, a coroner has heard.
Coroner Max Atkins has held an inquest into the death of Victor Thomas Bargallie, 63, retired of Whangarei.
The coroner reserved his decision after indicating he was likely to be critical of the boat's skipper, Joseph Wellington.
At Thursday's inquest, Mr Atkins had heard that Mr Bargallie and his three friends - Maurice Cooper, Adrian Pitman and Mr Wellington - had been on a fishing trip on Labour Weekend, 2003.
Mr Cooper said the four men were aboard the 10.5-metre motor launch Murutai, owned and skippered by Mr Wellington, but referred to as "our boat".
The group left Whangarei about 6pm on Friday, October 24, 2003, bound for the Hen and Chickens Islands and a weekend of fishing.
"We knew the place like the back of our hands. We'd been there thousands of times," Mr Cooper said.
The boat is believed to have surged onto rocks about 10pm amid fairly brisk south-south-west wind and heavy fog, sinking within 10 minutes. As the water gushed into the boat, all four men donned lifejackets. Mr Bargallie - who had recently had a hip replacement operation - had fallen over and had to be helped into his lifejacket.
Mr Cooper jumped onto a rock and connected a rope to the boat. Mr Pitman made it to land first, with Mr Bargallie behind.
"I was talking to Vic and yelling and shouting ... He kept saying he wanted to give up."
Mr Cooper said he and Mr Pitman had a hand each on Mr Bargallie trying to pull him up the rock but Victor had let go and that was the last he saw of him.
"Vic was still holding onto the rope but said he could not hold on much longer - a little while later, maybe a minute, he let go."
A surge of water had taken him away into a narrow gut in the rocks.
Mr Cooper said he and Mr Pitman managed to find the rope in the darkness and throw it to Mr Wellington who was still entangled in longlines on the boat.
He managed to tie the rope around himself and was hauled onto the rocks.
The three sheltered on the rocks until they were winched to safety about 6.20am the next day.
Mr Atkins said he admired Mr Cooper's and Mr Pitman's actions during what had been a terrible experience they would never forget.
"You're not young gentlemen. It's a tribute to you that you managed to survive and look after Mr Wellington," the coroner said.
However, he reserved his decision, saying in this case it was "unavoidable" that he would be making some adverse comment about the skipper, who had earlier said he had changed course several times to stay clear of yachts racing from Auckland to the Bay of Islands.
Flares aboard the boat had not been let off on the night. Mr Wellington said they had possibly been "overlooked in the panic ... to get off the boat".
A mayday radio call had been sent but the holed boat's position was given as Boulder Bay, two nautical miles east of its actual position. There had been a Global Positioning System (GPS) on the boat but the light on it had created a confusing "mirror effect" off the boat's windshield, Mr Wellington said.
Under questioning from Mr Atkins, the sailors admitted they had each had "a couple" of cans of beer, but all said they were sober.
Members of Mr Bargallie's family said the whole incident was a tragic accident, and nobody was to blame.
"They've lost a friend they had for over 30 years.
"We're very grateful for the friendship they had with him and the weekend they planned with him. He had great confidence in them."
Friends watch helplessly as mate slips away
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