Splash in the surf turns deadly
A casual dip in familiar surf on a Coromandel beach ended with a lifeless Perry Meehan being dragged to shore.
Despite fervent attempts, the 60-year-old father and husband couldn’t be revived.
His family are now grieving the good-humoured Hamilton man they described as ‘‘the life of the party’’.
After playing with the dogs on Onemana Beach, Perry and his daughter’s partner Darren Lloyd went for a Boxing Day splash in the surf, near – but not between – the flags.
‘‘We just went in for fun and it all happened so fast,’’ Lloyd told Stuff yesterday. ‘‘We just got taken out of our depth.
‘‘We went to about waist deep, but not out of our depth or anything. Three or four really large waves came through and knocked us around.’’
Within moments, the pair were out of their depth. Perry, who wasn’t a strong swimmer, called to Lloyd, who swam over and grabbed his hand, holding him afloat.
Lloyd yelled to his partner, Emily, who ran for help.
‘‘Another four or five waves came through and we both got belted around. I was trying my hardest to keep him above the water as well as myself . . . But he was just taking in too much water.’’
Previous reports stating the pair had become stuck in a rip weren’t accurate, Lloyd said.
‘‘If we were in a rip, I would have just held him and let it take us out to sea. I didn’t have that option. I immediately knew that if I stayed where I was, it would have been both of us.
‘‘At that point, he wasn’t holding onto me anymore. I had him, but he was unconscious.’’
Eventually, Lloyd was able to move forward enough – still holding Perry – and able to stand. By then, a young lifeguard had swam out to help Perry to shore.
But Perry was lifeless, his lips blue. After a ‘‘massive effort’’ – including 15 minutes of CPR – he was declared dead at the scene.
Emergency services, and Lloyd, believe Meehan died before he reached the shore.
Perry’s wife of 27 years, Jody Meehan, said the family were in deep shock at the loss of their loving, yet ‘‘strong-willed’’, husband and father.
‘‘He was just one of these people who would go his own way, no matter what you told him, he would do the opposite... But he was very kind hearted, very good to people.’’
The couple had enjoyed a sunfilled week at the beach together before Thursday’s tragedy.
‘‘He loved the ocean, he loved everything, actually,’’ Jody said. ‘‘He was the life of the party. He always had everyone laughing, in fits.’’
The couple’s daughter, 24-yearold Emily, was ‘‘staying very strong,’’ Lloyd said.
It’s been a hard year for the family, with Jody undergoing treatment for throat cancer.
Just five years ago, the couple lost a child.
‘‘Unfortunately [Emily] has seen it all,’’ Jody said.
The family thanked Surf Lifesaving NZ and emergency services for their ‘‘massive efforts’’ in trying to revive Perry on the beach.
It was a beach Jody has always been ‘‘wary of’’ and she urged people to be careful and swim between the flags.
Lloyd said while the pair were familiar with the area – especially Perry, who had swum there for decades – the tragedy showed how dangerous the ocean could be.
‘‘Everything can change in a second and you don’t know when it’s going to change.’’
‘‘We just went in for fun and it all happened so fast. We just got taken out of our depth.’’
Darren Lloyd