Rescued skipper wants to help search for missing mate

By BRIDGET CARTER

A skipper who survived a night drifting in a liferaft after his trawler sank plans to help search for his crewmate today.

A four-hour air search yesterday unsuccessfully scanned the Colville Channel for 39-year-old Allen "Archie" Wilkings, of Pt Chevalier in Auckland.

He was on board the 12m trawler St Peter with skipper Antony "Jack Sprat" Hodgson when the Simunovich Fisheries-owned boat sank on Wednesday in the channel, which is between Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula.

Mr Wilkings is presumed drowned, but Mr Hodgson, 35, managed to get into the boat's liferaft.

The skipper then drifted more than 50km overnight before being rescued by lifeguards about 2km off the coast near Mangawhai about 2pm on Thursday.

Last night, Simunovich Fisheries managing director Peter Simunovich said Mr Wilkings, who had a long-term partner and a 21-year-old daughter, had been a relieving crewman for the company since 1996.

He was good friends with Mr Hodgson. The two seasoned fishermen were originally from Leigh, north of Auckland. "They are strong, fit guys," Mr Simunovich said.

The company was planning to search again today. Mr Hodgson was distressed about losing his friend and wanted to join in the search for him.

Senior Constable Graham Gough of Mangawhai said fish-bin lids from the trawler were found washed ashore at Mangawhai yesterday during a coastal search that stretched from Pakiri to the Mangawhai Heads. Police wanted to hear from anyone who might have discovered debris from the St Peter.

Mr Hodgson told police he had lashed himself to the hull of the trawler when it was overturned by a freak wave until a liferaft from the vessel made its way to the surface nearly an hour later.

Mr Simunovich said the two sailors - who were not wearing lifejackets at the time of the capsize - had contacted Simunovich Fisheries early on Wednesday.

They had been sheltering in Tryphena Harbour, on Great Barrier, and had started to head south to begin fishing. When they failed to contact the fishing company again, a search began on Thursday morning.

Auckland Regional Council coastal scientist Harvey Brookes said a wave buoy in the Mokohinau Islands area, not far from Great Barrier, measured waves every hour. They averaged about 1.5m.

On Wednesday, the buoy recorded waves as high as 6.76m.

A spokeswoman for the Maritime Safety Authority, Helen Mojel, said it was reasonably common for mariners to report that an accident was caused by a wave swamping their boat.

Auckland Coastguard duty officer Dean Lawrence said the service had called off its special search for Mr Wilkings after yesterday's attempts proved unsuccessful, but the Colville Channel area would be included in regular patrols today and tomorrow.

"The chances of finding a body are diminishing."