Dark clothing hampered search
A man at the centre of a massive search at sea was wearing dark clothing which hampered the search for him, the coastguard has said.
South Taranaki Coastguard senior crewman John Lovell said on Monday that murky water conditions combined with the clothing had made it tough to search for 18-year-old Matt Smith, who is still missing more than a week after the boat he was in capsized.
‘‘Unfortunately the young boy we were looking for was wearing all black, that’s the description we were given, and with the water being a little bit dirty that made it a bit harder,’’ Lovell said.
‘‘Fluoro clothing would certainly make it easier.’’
Despite Smith missing for more than 24 hours in the cold waters by the time South Taranaki Coastguard became involved, Lovell said they held onto hope they would find him alive.
‘‘We’re all under the same illusion and we all want the same result and that’s to get a search over and done with as quick as possible,’’ he said.
‘‘We always want a positive outcome and to bring them back to their loved ones.
‘‘As a parent I can only imagine what it’d be like to go through what they’re going through.’’
Every time one of the four crew on the coastguard boat thought they saw something, they would turn around to check the area.
‘‘It can be quite demanding,’’ Lovell said.
‘‘You just can’t take your eye off the ball and any object you see you go back and inspect.’’
In his 10 years with the coastguard, he had been in rescues that ranged from saving people near death to not being able to do anything to save them at all.
‘‘It makes things a little bit harder when you’re a volunteer organisation,’’ he said.
The Hawera based coastguard has the only boat that can be transported over land in Taranaki and can be called to help out with any emergency between Foxton and Mokau.
‘‘It’s got to be done but it’s not something I look forward to,’’ Coastguard skipper Scott Williams said.
‘‘Someone’s life depends on it, that’s what it comes down to.
‘‘She’s a pretty long day when you’re standing on your feet and looking and it gets to your back after a bit and wears you down.’’
While the crew operated the boat up and down the New Plymouth coastline looking for any sign of Smith, South Taranaki coastguard president Gary Darnell operated the command truck from the top of the cliff. Darnell also monitored the ship’s position using GPS and a computer and made sure they searched the area designated for them.
‘‘It’s really important that you follow the search pattern that you’re given so that the people in special ops know the area you’ve been tasked with has been covered,’’ he said.
While the events leading up the accident are unknown, Darnell said a life jacket could have made all the difference and encouraged anyone heading out to buy and wear one. ‘‘It’s the price of a life,’’ he said. Brett Collett, 24, who was with Smith at the time but made it to shore, was discharged from hospital on Friday and on Monday the Collett and Smith families published an open letter thanking the community for its support.
‘‘Both families of the men who had the unfortunate boating accident off New Plymouth on Monday would like to thank the search and rescue, police, coastguard and all the many volunteers that have willingly given their time, money and food during this very traumatic time,’’ the letter said.
The search for Smith has been been put on hold until Wednesday.