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The father of a young Navy sailor killed at sea has spoken of his son's love of the ocean and declared the tragedy an "accident", even as an investigation into the death begins.
Bill Solomon spoke of his pride in Byron James Solomon, 22, of Alfriston, who was killed when an inflatable boat capsized in calm seas after being lowered from HMNZS Canterbury.
"He loved the Navy and he loved the sea. He was a good boy, a great boy and I can't believe what's happened."
The Canterbury sailed into Auckland early yesterday morning carrying Solomon's body. It was farewelled from the ship with a haka, and escorted to Te Taua Moana Marae in Devonport.
Bill Solomon managed to hold back his tears when he arrived at the marae, but broke down when he saw his young son's coffin in the back of the hearse. More than 60 people followed the coffin into the marae, holding hands and weeping.
Solomon was in a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) with fellow sailors Dwayne Pakinga, Adrian Shelford and Bernard Cook performing a routine drill as Canterbury sailed past Northland's Spirits Bay when the accident occurred.
The crew of four was tipped into the sea when a wire meant to stabilise the inflatable snapped. Shelford, Pakinga and Cook were thrown clear but Solomon was caught under the capsized vessel, possibly trapped by his inflated lifejacket.
Pakinga was badly injured, with muscle tearing, heavy facial bruising and a split lip, and was last night in the Naval hospital.
"You won't hear me say anything bad about the Navy because it was an accident what happened. I don't have a bad word to say about them.
"It's all pretty fresh. He was my son, what else can I say? He liked rugby, hunting, fishing - he was my son and now I need to go and say goodbye to him."
An able hydrographic systems operator, Solomon joined the Navy in January 2005. He joined the crew of HMNZS Canterbury in August 2007 and has had previous sea experience onboard the Navy's Hydrographic and Survey Ship, HMNZS Resolution.
Byron's stepmother, Irene Wong, was in tears describing her shock at the unexpected death of her "amazing" step-son. "It's very sad and I'm shell-shocked. All the family are trying to come to terms with it. He was such a good kid. Amazing."
One of Byron's best friends and colleagues, Navy technician Ross Anderson, said they were inseparable. "There was a group of us who were all good mates and we were always together and pretty much inseparable.
"He loved being out at sea because it was his passion, it was his thing. He was such an easy-going guy and nothing ever fazed him. I could always depend on him no matter what. He was also the best at his job, by far. He loved it."
Howick College school friend Peter McAtee said Byron had strong morals and stood for what he believed in. "He was a great guy with good morals - he was outstanding really.
"He was a good friend to everyone and never compromised himself. It's really sad to have another young guy die who was also from Howick." Pupils from the school yesterday farewelled classmate Ross Kimpton, 17, who died last month while on a rugby trip after falling 25-30m from a London hotel.
Last night, the parents of one of the four young sailors involved in a fatal accident were still waiting to hear from the Navy more than 24 hours after the tragedy.
Speaking to the Herald on Sunday from his home in Alice Springs last night, Robin Shelford, the father of Adrian Shelford, 20, said he and his wife, Amy, had heard of the accident from their other son Damien, Adrian's twin brother, earlier that morning.
The couple was still not sure whether Adrian had been injured. "We haven't heard a thing from the Navy. The phone rang this morning. There was no message so we just assumed it was one of the boys and rang Damien.
"All he could tell us was that Adrian remembered being pulled under the ship and hearing the propellers. We don't know anything else. At least the Navy could have rung us to tell us he was all right."
Amy was especially upset, he said. "We're pretty angry. It could have been Adrian who was killed."
His sons had joined the Navy 18 months ago following a visit from his cousin, former All Black Wayne Shelford, who had also been in the Navy. "I said 'why don't you join the Navy like Wayne?' and they did." Adrian was an ordinary seaman combat services, while Damien was a marine technician on board the HMNZS Kiwi.
The Canterbury was cruising at six knots in calm waters near Cape Reinga on Friday when the inflatable boat containing Solomon, Cook, Pakinga and Shelford was lowered to the sea by crane.
The wire line attached from the bow of the Canterbury to the bow of the RHIB, which keeps the boat parallel to the larger ship, snapped and caused the inflatable to capsize - while still attached to the crane.
As soon as the ship depowered, four sailors dived from the deck to save their mates but it was too late for Solomon - attempts to resuscitate him on board were unsuccessful.
Ship-board medics were so concerned about Pakinga's injuries, they considered evacuating him by helicopter before sailing for Auckland, where he was recovering.
Commodore David Anson said the Navy was unclear which part of the system - equipment, people, policy, procedure, training - if any, had failed. "We're unclear at what happened and we don't want to speculate. It's quite perplexing to us."
A Navy court of inquiry will investigate t and determine what was at fault. Police will conduct a separate investigation.
Anson said the tragedy had made a strong emotional impact on the crew, and Solomon was farewelled from the ship with a stirring haka. A Navy kaumatua followed the haka with a blessing to the tapu.
"It was an emotional moment. They've taken it pretty hard, the crew is a tight family so the grief is starting to kick in," Anson said.
Rear Admiral David Ledson, the Chief of Navy, expressed his personal condolences to the family of Solomon and quoted a Maori proverb to celebrate him: Ahakoa he iti he pounamu. "His life may have been short but it was precious."
Canterbury is the Navy's newest acquisition. It arrived in June and has been undergoing a year-long introduction to service, including joint exercises with the army.
Navy loss
* The Royal New Zealand Navy last lost a crew member at sea in 1970, when one sailor was killed and two injured after a huge wave swept them from the decks of HMNZS Waikato.
* Chief shipwright David Lindsay, 41, of Milford, was killed in the accident, which happened as the Waikato was escorting the Royal Yacht Britannia, with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, from Wellington harbour. The Queen sent a wreath and representative to the funeral.
HMNZS Canterbury
* Length: 131 metres
* Beam: 23.4 metres
* Speed: 19 knots
* Total capacity: 360 (53 in core ship, 10 flight personnel, 4 government staff, 7 army staff, 35 trainees, 250 troops.)
* Flight deck: Space for two helicopters
* Armament: 25mm and two .50 calibre machine guns
* Built in the Netherlands
* The first of seven new ships built for the Royal New Zealand Navy under Project Protector.
* She was officially commissioned to the Royal New Zealand Navy in June this year.
* The ship provides sealift facilities for transporting equipment, cargo, vehicles and personnel.
