‘No-one is to blame’
The daughters of Richard Bright, one of five men who drowned during a far north boat tragedy, say the crew did everything they could, and no-one was to blame.
Bright, 63, drowned after the fishing charter boat Enchanter was struck by a rogue wave and broke apart off North Cape during a storm on Sunday night.
Mike Lovett, 72, Mark Sanders, 43, Mark Walker, 41 and Geoff Allen, 72, all Waikato fathers, also died, and five men, including experienced captain Lance Goodhew and senior deckhand Kobe O’Neill, were winched to safety in the dark in atrocious conditions.
Bright’s daughters, Jessica Short and Julie Bright sat next to each other on Thursday, surrounded by Richard’s deer trophies, as they shared their father’s horrific tale.
‘‘They were in the middle of the sea; they couldn’t have done anything more,’’ Julie said. ‘‘They did everything they could.’’
Four days into the ‘‘the trip of a lifetime’’ to catch marlin at the Three Kings – a group of islands about 55km northwest of the northern tip of New Zealand – a weather warning was issued forcing the group to leave earlier than originally planned.
‘‘It started to get choppy and they were absolutely hauling it to get back in. Everyone was heading in, but big boats go slower,’’ Julie said.
‘‘They were nearly back. They were trying to tuck in where it was safe in the bay and take shelter from the storm but they didn’t quite make it.’’
Richard’s body arrived back in his home town of Cambridge on Wednesday last week.
When asked what would Richard say to his family if he were here today: ‘‘He would always say if he died early, to ‘close the f...ing till and drink the place dry’,’’ Julie said, referring to her parents’ pub, Group One Turf Bar.
An emergency locator beacon was activated around 8pm on March 20, and by midnight the 17-metre vessel had sunk. It is understood a rogue wave hit the boat near Murimotu Island, ripping its wheelhouse and causing it to capsize.
‘‘We have no bad feelings towards the skipper . . . he did everything right and brought them back early. He literally could not have done anything more,’’ Julie said. ‘‘I really feel for him.’’
Julie ‘‘couldn’t fault’’ anyone involved in the rescue mission.
Bright’s wife, Brenda, also expressed her concerns for the survivors. ‘‘I want to talk to them, tell them that it’s OK but you can’t tell someone how to feel. No-one is to blame.’’
The Brights own Group One Turf Bar – a bar they’ve owned a run for almost 21 years, which Brenda says she’s not ready to give it up just yet.
‘‘It was a business we ran together, I wouldn’t see why I would stop.’’
Jessica wants to know if her father ever caught that marlin that sat on his bucket list for years.
‘‘We still don’t know if he got one. I really hope someone did; that’s the whole reason they were out there. There’s nothing else we can do but be positive. This was something they enjoyed.’’
As far as Brenda is aware, Richard never did get his marlin.
‘‘We have no bad feelings towards the skipper . . . he did everything right and brought them back early. I really feel for him.’’
Julie Bright