She said she would remember her late husband as a loyal, determined man who gave her life meaning and absolute happiness.
He'd also left behind his daughter Evee, his step-children Casey and James, two siblings and his father. Deana said his loyalty to the people he loved was impeccable.
"He has risked life and limb for many others and has touched many hearts."
Deana went on to talk about Dwayne Terry, who was driving the boat Insley was racing in at the time of the accident. She said her husband understood the risks of motorsport.
"There is no blame attached, Dwayne Terry is a faultless driver. This is an accident in the true meaning of the word, it was unpredicted, and unforeseen."
"My heart goes out to him and his family," she said.
Terry described Insley as being like "a brother" to him.
He told Fairfax he didn't see the log that killed his friend.
"The log just happened to be at the wrong height and it just missed the roll cage, it missed the boat, missed everything it just happened to hit Duayne in the head."
Terry said he had made a promise to his children he would never race again.
The World Championship Jetboat Marathon would commence today. Spokesman Paul Mullan said event organisers had put in an extra leg on the Waitaki on Wednesday in place of the two legs cancelled on Monday.
Earlier, Mullan said the accident had hit the racing community hard.
"Everybody is devastated. It's a close-knit family, the racing fraternity," he said.
Mullan said details of exactly what happened were still under investigation, which was now being headed by the police.
