Friends devastated by loss of freediver

Eric De Vries. Photo / Supplied

Friends and colleagues are trying to come to terms with the loss of experienced freediver and fisherman Eric De Vries.

The 52-year-old husband and father of two teenage sons and a daughter, 24, died while spearfishing with a friend off the Kapiti Coast on Saturday.

Mr De Vries had worked at Saatchi & Saatchi in Wellington for 27 years, where he was an advertising designer.

General manager Livia Esterhazy said staff were devastated about the loss of their colleague and friend.

"Everyone is in various degrees of massive shock. Eric was an amazing guy, one of the last true gentlemen, hugely talented, awarded and passionate about his work, his family and his diving. We will miss him dearly," she said.

Mr De Vries dived most weekends and was meticulous about safety, said Ms Esterhazy. "He would never have taken any unnecessary risks."

The Wellington diving community was hit hard by his death.

"We're all pretty shocked and saddened," said Chris Marshall, president of the Lazy Seals Freediving Club, of which Mr De Vries was a member.

"Eric's wife and kids must be devastated, this close to Christmas as well."

Mr Marshall said Mr De Vries had been diving for more than 10 years.

Mr De Vries and a friend, Josh Masson, were freediving while spearfishing for kingfish on Hunters Bank, a renowned deep diving area.

After catching a fish, Mr De Vries surfaced but is then understood to have disappeared from view, Mr Marshall said.

When he could not find his companion, Mr Masson radioed for help and alerted freediving champion Dave Mullins, who was in a boat nearby.

Mr Mullins and another diver recovered Mr De Vries' body 40 minutes later from a depth of about 27 metres.

Mr De Vries had probably blacked out through lack of oxygen, but a combination of factors had contributed to his death, said Mr Marshall.

These included a strong current, good conditions, which may have enticed him to stay down longer than he should have, and he may have been fighting with the kingfish he had speared.

As an experienced diver he would have been able to hold his breath for up to 1 1/2 minutes, Mr Marshall said.

He made the distinction between freediving, a breath-holding sport in a controlled environment, and spearfishing, which he said was less controlled because the diver was dealing with the natural environment.

Mr De Vries' death was a "harsh and slightly brutal reminder about how we need to be careful of safety systems especially when spearfishing", he said.

"When you hold your breath too long you lose all conscious control of your body. Unfortunately in this case Eric blacked out." Anyone wanting to try either sport should dive with companions and join a club to get expert training.