Explosion badly burns boatie

Friends of Denys Barrowclough believe a gas stove may have caused the fire on his boat off Whangamata. Photo / Simon Clark

A coastguard veteran suffered serious burns and a broken jaw in an explosion on his boat at the weekend.

Denys Barrowclough, former president of the Whangamata Volunteer Coastguard, and a mate jumped from the burning boat after the blast.

Old friends are worried the accident may lead the safety-conscious boatie into giving up fishing.

Mr Barrowclough, who is in Waikato Hospital's high-dependency unit, ran into trouble on a fishing trip with a friend on Saturday, the day after his 84th birthday.

A lifeguard at the Whangamata Surf Lifesaving Club saw billowing smoke as he looked towards Mayor Island and rescuers launched an inflatable boat from Whiritoa, about 10km to the south.

Mr Barrowclough's boat was almost burned to the waterline by the time current coastguard president George Williams arrived. "He was quite badly banged up," he said.

Mr Barrowclough and his mate had already been dragged on to a boat nearby. They were taken at speed to the shore and Mr Barrowclough was flown to hospital.

Three firemen on Mr Williams' boat pumped water on to Mr Barrowclough's vessel until it sank.

The other man on Mr Barrowclough's boat was Guy Bowman, from Morrinsville, who was back at his farm last night with minor injuries.

He said he did not want to talk about what happened until Mr Barrowclough got out of hospital, but noted that his fishing mate's jaw was broken in three places and needed an operation.

Mr Barrowclough's friend of more than 20 years, Brian Grant, said something must have gone radically wrong on the boat.

"He's very safety-conscious - which makes me wonder. Last I heard he was still comfortable on his boats, and that's all I know," Mr Grant said.

"It wasn't a particularly onerous day - quiet, low waves. We can only speculate that it was the gas stove, but only Denys can tell us what happened."

Mr Grant had seen the old fisherman only the day before, when they celebrated his birthday at a packed Ocean Sports Club.

"We had a few beers together. He was fine. He was on top of the world."

Mr Barrowclough's family have been out of contact, but Mr Grant said he was confident of his friend's physical recovery.

"The only thing I can worry about is that the shock might be a problem. Fishing has certainly been a big part of his life."

Mr Barrowclough has been an active member of the Whangamata community but suffered from his wife's death two years ago.

He was the president of the Whangamata Volunteer Coastguard before passing the position on to Mr Grant.

Mr Barrowclough previously farmed in the Waikato.

The Ocean Sports Club's manager, Des Addison, was also out on the water when the explosion happened. He said more than 100 boats had been on the water and Mr Burrowclough was fishing a spot well known to locals.

Mr Addison was almost 15km away but saw thick, black smoke spreading across the horizon. "It was obvious, being on the water, that something had gone wrong."

Mr Barrowclough's accident was one of a number of maritime incidents over the Easter holiday break.

On Saturday, the body of fisherman Frank Paton Sanders was recovered from a lake in South Canterbury, almost 24 hours after the boat he was on capsized.

On Good Friday, a fisherman in his 50s was swept to his death while fishing off rocks at Bethells Beach on Auckland's west coast.

Less than two hours earlier, a body was found about 10km north at Muriwai.

A post-mortem examination will determine the identity of the deceased, but the parents of 21-year-old student Rhyan Rego, who disappeared there more than two weeks ago, have been bracing themselves for bad news.