Swimmer’s death prompts warning

Open water swimming in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf is akin to walking on a city road, an expert says following the death of Leslie Gelberger.

Last Thursday, Canadian immigrant Gelberger swam out from Devonport’s Narrow Neck Beach.

The father-of-two’s body was recovered from Mairangi Bay, some 13 kilometres north, on Friday – after it was spotted by passengers on a harbour ferry.

Police are investigating whether he was hit and killed by a boat, and are focusing on a pilot boat operated by the Ports of Auckland.

Andrew Mackay, head coach and founder of Boost Coaching, said the open water could be like the open road.

Most Auckland eastern beaches had a 300 to 400m yellow buoy marker. Any swimmer going beyond those needed to take precautions to ensure they could be seen, he said.

‘‘Visibility is the biggest danger for swimmers,’’ he said.

His recommendation was if a swimmer was headed further out to sea, crossing into the channel, they should never go alone.

Swim in a group, Mackay said. ‘‘If there are swimmers together, it’d likely be easier for a boatie to recognise than someone swimming alone.’’

Better still, was having a support boat or kayak alongside, he said.

‘‘If you’re swimming out in the channel without [a support vehicle] then you are stepping into the boating domain – you have to be pretty careful.’’

It was hard for boats to detect wetsuits in the water, especially of a lone swimmer, so brightly coloured caps and tow floats were useful in open water swimming, Mackay said.

Tow floats, towing behind a swimmer, highlight where a person is in the water and also act as a buoyancy aid.

Gelberger’s mother, Judith Kopacsi-gelberger, said she found it hard to fathom how the operator of a boat failed to see her son, as he was wearing a fluorescent pink swimming cap.

‘‘He was an extremely cautious person, and he was wearing the proper attire and a hat which was bright pink so he would be noticeable in the water,’’ she said.

Mackay said swimmers also could not rely on detecting an approaching boat.

When their heads were down swimmers could not see boats and often could not hear them.

‘‘Sometimes you can hear boat motors but it’s often hard to tell how close they are when you’re in the water.’’

The pilot boat under investigation for Gelberger’s death is aluminium hulled and roughly 15 metres long. They are used to transport marine pilots to incoming ships and to pick up marine pilots from outgoing ships. A marine pilot’s job is to guide a ship safely into port.