Lawyer at helm when boat killed snorkeller

By ANGELA GREGORY

KAIKOHE - A partner in an Auckland law firm was driving a 5.3m powerboat when it hit and killed a snorkeller who was diving alone without showing a diving flag.

Lawyer Russell Bartlett's family, including business and academic leader Sir Colin Maiden, were on board.

The police did not charge Mr Bartlett over the Bay of Islands incident on January 5 because they were satisfied that speed was not an issue.

Yesterday, the Bay of Islands coroner, Heather Ayrton, found that Bryan John Fifield, aged 43, of Mission Bay, died from drowning after receiving a severe head injury when Mr Bartlett's Buccaneer 530 struck him at Urupukapuka Island.

Mrs Ayrton said Mr Fifield's injuries were consistent with his being hit by a blunt force, most likely the undersection of the propeller or motor.

She said the accident highlighted the dangers of snorkelling or diving alone, and the importance of using a dive flag as a warning to boaties.

The death occurred on the same day multimillionaire Alan Gibbs lost control of a powerful jetski and sped into a dinghy near the Cavalli Islands off Whangaroa, about 30km north of the Bay of Islands.

Mr Gibbs was ordered to pay $13,000 in fines and compensation, and the family he hit and injured are seeking further damages.

Yesterday's inquest heard that police were diverted to Urupukapuka Island after Mr Bartlett, of the law firm Ellis Gould, phoned to report his fears that he had hit someone.

Mr Bartlett's boat was carrying six passengers - his wife, their three sons and his parents-in-law, Sir Colin and Lady Jennifer Maiden.

Sir Colin, a former Auckland University vice-chancellor, is chairman of Independent Newspapers and Transpower.

Mr Bartlett saw a 3.6m aluminium dinghy in the middle of Opiato Bay and his son commented it was a "funny place to leave a tinny."

Mr Bartlett estimated he was travelling at 15 to 18 mph (24 to 28 km/h) and the nose of the boat was down.

There was no one on board the dinghy, and no flag. When his boat was about 50m away something hit the motor. He stopped to check for submerged objects but saw nothing.

It was not until he inspected the dinghy, which contained a T-shirt and shellfish, that he began to wonder if he had hit a diver.

His family spent about half an hour looking for signs of debris or blood but saw none.

Passengers on another boat confirmed they had seen a diver and the search continued without success.

Mr Bartlett drove back to the family bach and rang the police before returning to the scene with his sons, who spotted a body on the seabed.

Victor Fifield, a tutor and examiner for the Royal NZ Coastguard's safe boating education services and uncle of the deceased, told the inquest that his nephew, who was the sales manager of a boatbuilding company, had been involved in water activities most of his life and was "not a foolhardy person."

Mr Fifield suggested that boaties be reminded to keep a sharp lookout.