NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Grieving UK family stranded on yacht refused NZ entry after son killed in speedboat accident

Tom Dillane
By Tom Dillane
Reporter/Deputy Head of News·NZ Herald·
9 Oct, 2020 04:00 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Eddie Jarman, 14, was hit by a speedboat and killed off Moorea Island in French Polynesia on August 9. His family have been rejected entry into NZ border under humanitarian grounds. Photo / Supplied

Eddie Jarman, 14, was hit by a speedboat and killed off Moorea Island in French Polynesia on August 9. His family have been rejected entry into NZ border under humanitarian grounds. Photo / Supplied

Barbara Genda and Harry Jarman sold their UK house, bought a yacht and set off on a round-the-world trip which they hoped would forge everlasting memories for their children.

But tragedy struck when their 14-year-old son Eddie was struck by a jetboat and killed while checking the anchor.

Grief-stricken and unable to continue their journey, they say they are now stuck in French Polynesia after being denied entry into New Zealand to try to sell their boat so they can return home to West Sussex and try to restart their lives.

It was a bitter decision to swallow for the family who have watched as a stream of superyachts are given exemptions to enter New Zealand provided they spend at least $50,000 each in repair work at New Zealand marine businesses.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Genda said she believes entry into New Zealand's border is a door opened by money.

"I feel it's one rule for them and one rule for us. Why all the superyachts have been approved and none of the yachts? It's for economic reasons."

Eddie Jarman, far left, and his sister Amelie, far right, with some friends they met on their global sailing trip. Photo / Supplied
Eddie Jarman, far left, and his sister Amelie, far right, with some friends they met on their global sailing trip. Photo / Supplied

The family set sail in their 17-metre yacht in January 2019.

On August 9 this year, their son Eddie died in an accident off Moorea Island, near Tahiti, which is the subject of a manslaughter inquiry.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The heartbroken family now floats indefinitely in French Polynesia on the boat which every day reminds them of their lost boy.

They are trying to sell their $1 million yacht - the only home they have - in order to return home to the UK and buy a house.

But with cyclone season bearing down, the family was on October 2 refused an exemption to enter New Zealand's maritime border for humanitarian reasons.

From left: Barbara Genda, 47, Eddie Jarman, 14, Amelie Jarman, 13, and Harry Jarman, 55.
From left: Barbara Genda, 47, Eddie Jarman, 14, Amelie Jarman, 13, and Harry Jarman, 55.

"In the whole uncertainty of our life ahead of us without Eddie, at least one certainty was we could go to New Zealand and very likely sell the boat and move on.

Discover more

New Zealand

New hope in search for Kiwis after possible 'signs of life' on remote island

09 Oct 04:40 AM
New Zealand

Mother and two children 'lucky' to be rescued at Bethells Beach in fifth serious incident this week

09 Oct 01:59 AM
Business

Effects of Covid-19 travel ban on universities 'not quite bad enough'

09 Oct 04:00 PM
Opinion

We know how to make air travel planet-friendly. So what's the hold up?

08 Oct 11:51 PM

"Because of that rejection we will live in that uncertainty, and we live on a boat that reminds us of him every day.

"Every time I go out in the cockpit and look over I remember the scene, seeing my son floating in the water unconscious and probably dead by that time, being dragged by a woman who recovered him."

The Jarman family had been on a round-the-world sailing trip since January 2019. Photo / Supplied
The Jarman family had been on a round-the-world sailing trip since January 2019. Photo / Supplied

The Ministry of Health's (MOH) refusal letter to the family's border entry application said director general of health Ashley Bloomfield took into consideration the fact they had already managed to repatriate Eddie's body to the UK.

The family flew back to Sussex to bury Eddie in August, but had to return to their yacht, September AM, with their daughter to navigate cyclone season and try to sell it.

The MOH extended their condolences to the family for their loss and said "due consideration was given to their circumstances".

The 17-metre yacht September AM which the Jarmans are now trying to sell. Photo / Supplied
The 17-metre yacht September AM which the Jarmans are now trying to sell. Photo / Supplied

"The application did not meet the high threshold of a humanitarian exemption," the MOH told the Herald.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"For clarity, humanitarian reasons or other compelling needs would be unlikely to include situations relating solely to financial loss, or to vessels travelling primarily for pleasure or convenience."

However, Genda said it is almost impossible to sell their yacht in French Polynesia.

Auckland yacht brokers 36 degrees had urged the family to make the "utmost effort" to bring September AM to New Zealand because there were prospective buyers here - but none that could fly to Tahiti to view their yacht.

The family also obtained a letter of support from the British High Commission assuring the MOH that Genda and her daughter could return to the UK within days of arriving in New Zealand.

The Jarman family are now trying to sell their $1 million yacht - the only home they have - in order to return home to the UK, buy a house and try to start their life again. Photo / Supplied
The Jarman family are now trying to sell their $1 million yacht - the only home they have - in order to return home to the UK, buy a house and try to start their life again. Photo / Supplied

What is particularly disappointing to Genda is the number of superyachts that have been given exemptions into New Zealand since the maritime border was closed on June 30.

The MOH revealed to the Herald that 13 vessels had been granted exemption to dock here - eight of those under a refit and repair criteria.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Those foreign vessels and crew can be exempted into New Zealand provided they spend a minimum of $50,000 getting refit and repair work at a NZ marine outfitter.

In reality, the money being spent is far greater.

The death of Eddie Jarman, 14, is now the subject of a manslaughter investigation in French Polynesia. Photo / Supplied
The death of Eddie Jarman, 14, is now the subject of a manslaughter investigation in French Polynesia. Photo / Supplied

One 55m superyacht is undergoing a $7m refit at Auckland Orams Marine Services boatyard.

The 81m AIR superyacht from Malta entered Auckland on October 7, and the 55m Senses superyacht from the US will arrive on October 15

"That is what hurts me. It is an economic transaction," Genda said.

"I believe there are 20 [superyachts] that applied, and they're just staggering the application so they don't turn up all at the same time. You'd change the light bulbs for $50,000 on superyachts. So why are they all going there [NZ]. I tell you why - because of the America's Cup."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Eddie Jarman with his father Harry on board their yacht September AM. Eddie was killed by a speedboat on August 9. Photo / Supplied
Eddie Jarman with his father Harry on board their yacht September AM. Eddie was killed by a speedboat on August 9. Photo / Supplied

The MOH said only three exemptions for foreign vessels and crew into the New Zealand maritime border had been for humanitarian reasons, and all because "they had New Zealand citizens on board".

Genda said the family would soon have to sail their yacht from Tahiti for over a week to the French Polynesian island of Marquesas to be safe during the summer cyclone season.

"We hope that we spend the cyclone season [in Marquesas] and hopefully next year New Zealand will open up and then we can eventually sail the boat there for a sale.

"But that is gutting. It is terribly, horribly stressful.

Eddie Jarman, 14, and his sister Amelie, 13, on board the family yacht, September AM. Photo / Supplied
Eddie Jarman, 14, and his sister Amelie, 13, on board the family yacht, September AM. Photo / Supplied

"We're not doing this because we want to get to New Zealand and live in a country Covid-free. No, we need to put our daughter back into school [in the UK] so she can be in a normal environment with her friends.

"We rely on the capital of the sale of the boat to be able to go back.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We know that's best for her, rather than being on the boat and being lonely and reminded every day of Eddie, and her lack of a brother."

The family have launched a campaign to raise £100,000 to set up a charity for young musicians in memory of Eddie, who was a talented violinist.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Far North homes without power after severe gales

New Zealand

Man hides out in bush for 5 months after slicing victim with machete over $20

New Zealand

Measles spreads beyond Wairarapa, 6 locations of interest in Feilding


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Far North homes without power after severe gales
New Zealand

Far North homes without power after severe gales

More than 170 customers south of Cape Rēinga are still without power.

17 Jul 08:26 AM
Man hides out in bush for 5 months after slicing victim with machete over $20
New Zealand

Man hides out in bush for 5 months after slicing victim with machete over $20

17 Jul 08:00 AM
Measles spreads beyond Wairarapa, 6 locations of interest in Feilding
New Zealand

Measles spreads beyond Wairarapa, 6 locations of interest in Feilding

17 Jul 07:43 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP