One of the Enchanter tragedy survivors reveals the ocean is still a part of his life, despite enduring hours stuck in the water after a boat fatally capsized earlier this year.
What was meant to be the fishing trip of a lifetime took a deadly turn when a charter boat from Mangōnui to the Three Kings Islands capsized on March 20.
Five passengers survived more than four hours in the ocean before they were rescued.
But five men did not make it home, their names are Mark Sanders, Richard Bright, Mike Lovett, Mark Walker and Geoff Allen.
The survivors of the deadly Enchanter fishing trip spoke out for the first time to Newshub to defend the boat's skipper Lance Goodhew, under investigation by Maritime NZ.
Enchanter survivors said a rogue 10-metre wave that struck the 16.5-metre vessel, throwing them into the ocean off North Cape, was behind the tragedy.
Speaking to AM, survivor Shay Ward told said the tragic day has not made him shy away from the ocean.
"I've been going to the sea my entire life," Ward told host Melissa Chan-Green. "I've been a commercial fisherman [and] a recreational fisherman my entire life.
"It's a part of my life, it's a part of who I am."
Ward said the incident was a matter of "wrong place, wrong time" and the only thing that could have helped change the outcome was having a personal locator beacon physically on them - rather than on the boat.
"The sea's an unforgiving place, it's got a lot of mysteries to it. You don't think something like that is going to happen to you - but it did."
The survivors say they owe their lives to those "everyday Kiwi blokes being heroes" at Northern Rescue Helicopters who punched through bad weather to get to remote North Cape for the daring night rescue. The crew was Lance Donnelly, Alex Hunt, Paul Davis and rescue swimmer Josh Raravula. They have launched a fundraising campaign to buy multiple ballistics helmets, priced at $5000 each, for the Whangarei-based helicopter crew.
"I think if I can make some good out of it - there's not much good out of the whole scenario - but if I can do some good out of it and make some money for the Nest guys and keep them in the air I think that's a positive thing out of it all," Ward said.
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You can watch Newshub Investigates: The Enchanter Tragedy on ThreeNow or click here.
