Surly yachtsman ignored family

By Alison Horwood

WELLINGTON - A man similar to Scott Watson appeared to be annoyed when another boat pulled up near his yacht on New Year's Day last year.

John Peter Edwards told the Watson double-murder trial yesterday that he and his family were surprised to see a single-masted yacht in their favourite fishing spot near Marine Head, at the mouth of Endeavour Inlet, about 9 am.

They went around the yacht's bow and stopped about 10m away.

Mr Edwards described the yacht as single-masted with a lee-cloth and agreed when shown a picture of Watson's sloop, Blade, that it was similar.

The Crown says Watson murdered Olivia Hope and Ben Smart after offering them a bed on Blade. He denies the charges and his trial in the High Court at Wellington has just finished its seventh week.

Mr Edwards told the court that he saw a man aged between 20 and 30 with ungroomed brown hair emerge from the rear of the cabin.

He could see him only from the waist up because of the lee-cloth, or curtain, around the railing.

He said the incident was unusual because he called out "good morning" but the man did not say anything, wave, or make a gesture.

"Everybody talks to everybody in the Sounds.

"He just looked at us and his facial expression was not happy."

He added that the man looked "annoyed and sour."

His son Zane Jonathan Edwards, a church minister of Christchurch, was also on the runabout with his wife and three sons.

Zane Edwards said the group was staying that summer at a bach at The Pines, along the bay from Furneaux Lodge in Endeavour Inlet. They went fishing almost every morning at the same place near Marine Head.

The fishing spot was about 15m to 25m offshore, beneath a sheer rock face and a group of pine trees.

On New Year's Day the family had breakfast, then left the bach about 9 am. It took about 10 minutes to travel to the fishing spot. When they arrived they noticed another vessel there.

Zane Edwards said they stopped about 6m to 10m away and he had a direct view of the yacht.

He could not hear any noises but, through the cabin windows, he noticed a man moving through the cabin and on to the deck.

The man was partially obscured from his vision because he seemed to crouch down when he came on to the deck.

"He went to the stern and did something over there, leaning over, and went back to the cabin," he told the court.

Despite attempts, the man did not engage in conversation, but glanced across at the family several times.

Zane Edwards identified the man as Watson in a police montage of photographs. The only dissimilarity was that the man he saw had slightly more hair.

The man's light-coloured single-masted yacht moved away and stopped for a short time about 200m from the family. After about 10 minutes it headed off towards Edgecombe Pt.