A whitebaiter in Canterbury was spotted by a rescue helicopter, then moments later swept out to sea.

As he shivered in darkness beneath a bed of dried ferns, 11-year-old James Regnier waved helplessly at the passing rescue helicopter above the dense bush canopy.

An 11-year-old Christchurch boy survived the night in dense bush on the West Coast at the weekend, while wearing just a pair of shorts and singlet.

A man whose 60-year-old son drowned at sea said he `lived for fishing'' and was happiest whenever he was out on the ocean.

Later today a decision will be made whether to send divers down to look at a fishing vessel, believed to be the boat that disappeared off the Fiordland coast on Saturday with two onboard.

Hopes are quickly fading for a fishing boat skipper and his teenage crewman missing at sea off the South Island's West Coast since Saturday.

After spending a month in a snow cave to fundraise for avalanche dogs, Blair Whitaker and two guests were forced to dig their way out, thanks to a blizzard.