The tragic end to the search for the Gisborne fishermen missing off Māhia Peninsula has rocked Tairāwhiti as the men were well-known, respected and loved.
The trio on board the 7m recreational fishing boat Billy Boy were reported overdue from a fishing trip in the Māhia area on Monday.
Their bodies were found by searchers onshore at Māhia early this morning.
The men were named by various news media today.
One of them, the skipper of the boat Billy Boy, was named by his family as Elwood Higgins.
Another, also identified by family, was Taina Sinoti.
The third man was Damien Macpherson, a respected farm manager, rugby referee and former Poverty Bay rugby representative.
There has been no sign of the boat, which is believed to have sunk.
A life raft, dropped into the ocean by an RNZAF Poseidon aircraft when two of the men were sighted mid-afternoon Tuesday off Portland Island, was found washed ashore at Māhia about 11pm that night.
Police said the bodies of two of the men were found not far from the raft about 3am today. The body of the third man was located a short time later not far from there.
They were found on the beach in the vicinity of Wainuiorangi Rd on the southeastern side of the peninsula.
The men were taken to the Gisborne Hospital mortuary.
Gisborne-Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club president Roger Faber said they were devastated at the outcome of the search.
“The club sends its condolences to the whānau of our club members who lost their lives doing what they loved.”
Police extended their condolences to the whānau of the three men.
“Our thoughts are with their families at this difficult time.”
Staff at Maritime NZ and the Rescue Co-ordination Centre also extended their condolences to those impacted by the tragic event.
“A sustained search effort on the sea, in the air and along the coast was undertaken to bring the lost fishermen home,” RCCNZ general manager Justin Allan said.
“This was a difficult and complex search and rescue operation.
“Weather conditions in the area were severe, and rescuers went right to their limits to get to the area we received reports the people in the water were, confirm their location and attempt to remove them from the sea,” Allan said.
“Responders from the region, as well as rescue aircraft sourced from across the North Island, had to battle atrocious conditions, including swells of up to and at times more than 6m, 50-knot winds and low visibility — showing how determined they were to reach the men in the water. Unfortunately, the sea and weather conditions were too severe.
“I want to thank everyone who has been involved, determined volunteers from the local community, family members, Coastguard (Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne), police, rescue helicopter operators, Surf Life Saving NZ, crew of vessels in the area and the New Zealand Defence Force.”
A senior member of Gisborne’s Character Roofing SLS emergency callout squad, who went to the tip of the peninsula with their IRBs ready to assist if needed, said he had never seen anything like the sea conditions.
“It was huge and messy, waves on top of waves, and you could barely stand up because of the extreme winds.”
Allan said: “This was a very challenging operation, with an outcome nobody wanted. But everyone was united in their drive to get these men home.”
Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz said it was “a very sad day” for Tairāwhiti.
“As a community, we are in mourning and we are asking the community to give the families involved time to mourn their loved ones and to bring their men home,” she said.
“I know every person in Tairāwhiti would have known one of the men. They were much-loved, well-respected and will be missed.
“We will wrap our love around the families when they are ready.”
One man told Radio New Zealand yesterday all three men were good friends of his.
“Everyone in our region felt the storm the last few days, but especially Tuesday night, with everyone’s thoughts out at sea, praying that our men would be safe and returned. It’s a tragedy for Tairāwhiti.
“We have lost some good buggers that are close with the rural, urban and coastal communities.”
Another man said on social media: “It’s chilling to the spine to wake up to this news that one of your own has been lost.”
“The world has lost one of the alpha slayers (fishermen) in Elwood ... sure you’ll be up there still catching fish too big for ya boat.”
A Givealittle page has been set up by a family friend of Damien Macpherson to cover the cost of his funeral and ongoing support for his wife Vivien and two children.
Damien was “a ray of light and love and laughter has been taken too soon”, the page said.
Police have an inquiry under way on behalf of the Coroner.
