They were then transferred to the Coastguard vessel and taken to Waitangi jetty where they were given a medical check. The sea was warm so they were not suffering from hypothermia.
The cause of the capsize was not entirely clear but it was thought all four had rushed to an aft quarter of the vessel at the same time.
It happened so quickly they had no time to retrieve their Epirb (emergency position-indicating radio beacon). One of the men had to dive under the boat to find and activate it.
No one was wearing a lifejacket, Snowdon said.
“Given the state of the sea and the state of the crew they are very lucky to be alive. It’s a timely reminder that people in small craft — particularly under 6m — need to wear personal flotation devices. It’s also a reminder that excessive alcohol and boating do not mix, especially at night.”
While small boats went out much further during the day in settled conditions, 11 nautical miles was a long way out to sea at night.
The incident occurred more than 20km from Cape Brett, off Northland’s east coast. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The Northland harbourmaster had been notified of the boating hazard posed by the upturned vessel.
Nine out of 10 boating deaths occurred in small craft through capsize or sinking, Snowdon said.
It was the second night in a row the volunteers had been out until late.
After towing a boat from Oke Bay, near Rāwhiti, on Thursday night the crew returned to Doves Bay at 2.30am on Friday.
