Waikato man urges fishers to wear lifejackets after washed off rocks, pulled 100m out to sea

Waikato fisherman Bas Radcliffe is urging fishers to wear a lifejacket when going out because it may save your life.

A fisherman who was swept off rocks and pulled 100m out to sea stripped off his clothes and gumboots as he floated in the churning surf desperate to survive.

Bas Radcliffe is crediting his calm head to being able to recount his brush with near tragedy while fishing south of Raglan and is adamant lifejackets save lives “no matter how stupid you look”.

The Manakino resident had been fishing on the rocks at Ruapuke Beach on Waikato’s west coast earlier this month when a large wave hit him.

“I had my line in the water for about 30-40 minutes, everything was going well,” he told the Herald.

“I hooked a fish, and it seemed like a decent fish, so I moved to a higher point and then, ‘bang’.

“I remember fighting a fish, and then all of a sudden, I was 10m out by the time I had to come to terms with what happened.

Radcliffe was close to panicking when he saw the rocks floating further away.

“I stayed calm and stuck to what I knew.”

He thought his clothes were dragging him under so proceeded to take everything off.

“I ditched everything from my gumboots to my pants to my jacket to my T-shirt,” he said.

“I pretty much came back in my Jockeys.”

He thinks the waves washed him back to shore.

“I got swept out about 100 metres. I tried swimming, I tried everything.”

He eventually lay on his back and gently paddled back to shore, only to be smashed against the rock again.

Bas Radcliffe was swept from the rocks into the sea while fishing at Ruapuke Beach in Waikato earlier this month.

However, this time Radcliffe was able to cling on and hoist himself back up to shore.

He walked back to his truck and only after finally seeing other people did he realise what had happened.

Radcliffe told the Herald he was stupid to go out in the dangerous weather conditions.

“I pretty much ticked every box on what not to do.”

The Manakino resident told fishers: “If in doubt, don’t go out.”

“Wear a lifejacket, no matter how stupid you look, that could be the difference between you going back to your family or your family getting that not-so-nice phone call.”

“Wear light clothes, but warm clothes. Don’t wear heavy stuff like gumboots.”

He said fishers should wear Crocs, sneakers or shoes that can be taken off easily and won’t drag them down.

“Gumboots fill up with water so fast and your feet get stuck in there.”

Water Safety New Zealand told the Herald in a statement that the culture about lifejackets for rock fishers needed to change.

“Especially at sites like Papanui Point in the Waikato or Auckland’s west coast beaches, where conditions can deteriorate quickly.

“Wearing a lifejacket, checking conditions in advance and recognising the limits of even well-known locations must become normalised if loss of life is to be reduced.”