Floating groceries, jandal, oar and wallet spark Whangarei Harbour search

Floating debris on the tide at Onerahi sparked a search. Photo/File

A packet of chips, steak, a jandal, an oar and a wallet found floating in the Whangarei Harbour suggested a boating mishap.

The discovery by fishermen off the Onerahi foreshore sparked a police search for a man believed missing overnight on Tuesday. But the 60-year-old owner of the items was found safe on his launch anchored near Onerahi yesterday morning and was able to tell police what happened.

Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe said the boatie, who lives between his house and his launch moored off Onerahi, was standing at the back of his launch, unloading groceries from the dinghy.

However, the current was strong and soon the man was struggling to hold onto the dinghy while maintaining his grip on the launch.

The current dragged the dinghy further away and the man tried to use his feet to haul it back. But the weight of the man caused the dinghy to tip and fill with water and sink immediately. The man was able to hang on to the launch but was left without a cellphone as it sank with the dinghy.

He didn't realise his shopping and other items had floated away on the tide.

Metcalfe said the police patrolled the Beach Rd area near Onerahi and found
a parked vehiclethat matched the identification found in the wallet.

Metcalfe said they were unable to find the man overnight but they confirmed he owned a boat. At first light yesterday officers were at Onerahi.

"They could see a man on a launch so they got two passing waka paddlers to go out and confirm who he was."

Police later launched their own boat and spoke to the man, who was unaware of the search. He said he had done the crossing to his boat hundreds of times and this was his first mishap.

His dinghy remains on the bottom of the channel just to the stern of his launch.