Lifejacket law needs to be tougher, says mourner

Lydia Sijp-Marsters, a sister of Fred Marsters, who died in the Kaipara Bar fishing disaster, hopes the tragedy leads to the law on lifejackets being strengthened.

“Out of this tragic accident I hope that the charter companies legislation in New Zealand improves more and ensures that the commercial charters are a lot more stringent with their safety rules,” said SijpMasters, a disaster management ad- viser in the office of the Cook Islands Prime Minister. She made the plea at a Mangere memorial service last night for the eight men who died when a charter boat flipped in heavy seas on November 26.

She was glad Fred had discovered a love for fishing because the Marsters “are a renowned fishing family in the Pacific”.

She had a stopover in New Zealand on her way to Japan from Fiji for work and saw Fred just before the Kaipara trip.

“We spent the night together enjoying dinner with the family.”

Fred received a phone call about the fishing trip and had to organise food and fishing gear. He dropped her off at the airport and in their last conversation she wished him an enjoyable trip “because I was really happy he had learned to be a fisherman”.

She said Fred's wife had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. Her stitches had been removed this week and she was about to start chemotherapy. The youngest of the couple's three children is 17.

Sijp-Marsters told the service: “I feel for all the other families who lost husbands, brothers and uncles.

“For Christmas we will be mourning our loved ones. Christmas for Fred's family will be without him.” 1. The Master Builders Supreme House of the year was a Cape Cod-style beachfront house in Campbells Bay, Orakei, Matiatia Bay? 2. Where is Cape Cod — Delaware, Massachusetts, Virginia? 3. Special absentee votes could be cast for the first time here in a General Election on this day in 1905, 1935, 1966? 4. A munitions ship explosion on this day in 1917 killed more than 1800 people in Baltimore, Halifax, Southampton? 5. Herald on Sunday

Picture / Greg Bowker Wally Marsters and his sister Lydia Sijp-Marsters, siblings of Fred Marsters (inset), address a memorial last night. Fred was one of eight to die when charter boat the Francie capsized while crossing the Kaipara bar.