Fourth body found after fishing charter vessel hit by 'rogue wave' in Far North

Monday, 21 March 2022

A fourth body has been found in the water after a charter fishing vessel went down late Sunday evening in the Far North.

Enchanter, a charter vessel operating out of Mangonui, sank just before midnight on Sunday off North Cape in rough conditions.

An Enchanter Fishing Charters’ vessel is at the centre of a rescue operation near North Cape.

Five people were rescued, including Enchanter captain Lance Goodhew and senior deckhand Kobe O'Neill.

They were in Kaitāia Hospital in a stable condition on Monday morning and had since been discharged.

A major search and rescue operation is under way near North Cape, in the Far North.

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Five other people were known to have gone into the water.

Steve Smith, a friend of Enchanter’s skipper, Lance Goodhew.

Maritime New Zealand said on Monday morning the bodies of three people had been recovered.

Penetaui Kleskovic, operations manager for Te Aupōuri Commercial Development, said that afternoon a fourth body had been found. Police confirmed that report shortly afterward.

Maritime NZ said on Monday evening a fifth body had not yet been recovered.

One possibility was that it remained in the boat, but an “active search” was set to resume in the morning, she said.

‘Has to be a freak accident’ – harbour master

Steve Smith is the manager of the Esquire Motel in Mangonui and the harbour warden for the small Far North town.

Mark Sanders, who died when the fishing charter Enchanter sank.

He said skipper Lance Goodhew, crew member Kobe O’Neill and eight charter guests set off from Mangonui about 8am Saturday.

“It was just a normal charter.

“I was quite horrified to hear the news. These people, they might be tourists, but for a wee while they are part of our community. So it is devastating for us.”

Smith said he had known Goodhew for many years.

Lance Goodhew, owner of Enchanter Fishing Charters.

“He is not a cowboy.

“He knows what he’s doing, he’s professional.”

The Enchanter had been in similar conditions many times before with no issue, Smith said.

“It has to be a freak accident.”

Smith said he was “horrified, devastated” when he heard the news.

“The whole town is. It’s crippling to hear news like this.”

A cross on a tree above the township of Mangonui remembers people who have not returned from sea.

The alarm was first raised by an emergency locator beacon being set off about 8pm, Maritime NZ said. Kleskovic said the captain last made contact via maritime radio about 10pm.

The first survivors were winched from the water about 11.30pm. At 2.30am, Maritime NZ officially said the boat had sunk, he said.

It appeared the vessel had been hit by a “rogue wave” near a reef. Its hull had “snapped in half” and the wheelhouse had been “ripped out”, Kleskovic said.

It was a “miracle” anyone survived, he said.

“The moment you're in the ocean, particularly up there at that time, it's pretty unforgiving.”

He said Te Aupōuri iwi were “deeply saddened” by the sinking.

“Mana moana and mana whenua are deeply saddened to hear of Enchanter.

“Our aroha and thoughts are with the families affected.

“A dark day for Tai Tokerau.”

Police have not released names of the rescued or the missing. However, the family of Waikato father-of-three Mark Sanders has confirmed he died in the sinking.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has opened an inquiry into the incident, issuing a protection order for any debris from the boat to preserve evidence.

Investigators will be speaking to people in the Far North and are encouraging people with information to come forward.

The company whose boat went down was involved in the rescue of victims of the deadly Whakaari/White Island eruption in December 2019.

Kleskovic said he had been on the boat previously and described it as an advanced and capable vessel.

Swells in the area were about 2.5m overnight. (File photo)

The live-aboard boat is 17m long and is designed for offshore fishing, the company’s website said.

It is one of three boats operated by Enchanter Fishing Charters, which specialises in fishing around the Three Kings Islands.

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A statement from the New Zealand Defence Force said an Orion aircraft joined the search at 1am on Monday from Whenuapai.

Bad weather in Auckland meant it could not land when it returned at 8am. It was diverted to Ōhakea in the central North Island.

A second Orion was departing from Auckland as soon as possible on Monday, while the navy ship HMNZS Taupō arrived in the area early on Monday afternoon.

Far North District Council Te Hiku ward councillor Felicity Foy said seas in the area could “change very quickly and be very volatile” – especially around Cape Reinga, where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea met.

MetService meteorologist Ashlee Parkes said there were torrential downpours and gale northeasterly winds in the area overnight, but the weather had calmed down by Monday morning, when there was a 2-metre swell and 10kmh winds.

Winds in the area on Sunday afternoon would have reached about 65kmh before easing off late in the evening, added MetService meteorologist David Miller.

He said waves would have been up to 2.5 metres and the rain was heavy.

However, the front causing the weather had moved away from the area by Monday morning, he said.

The Enchanter business was established in 1995 by Goodhew and, according to its website, offers charter fishing for “the serious angler”.

It has three boats in its fleet – Enchanter, Cova Rose and Pacific Invader – each of which can sleep up to eight passengers.

They take charters to remote places like White Island, Ranfurly Banks, Westport and the Three Kings, a group of islands 55 kilometres northwest of Cape Reinga.

Goodhew, the captain of Enchanter, “has a passion for the sea and fishing” and “dedicates his life to living on the ocean”, the business’ website says.

He has lived on board the vessel for more than 250 days a year for the past two decades. Calls to Goodhew’s phone on Monday morning went unanswered.

Rhys Lark, the captain of Cova Rose, said he was involved in the search for the missing but was unable to comment.

In 2019, Enchanter Fishing Charters staff aboard Cova Rose helped rescue victims of the deadly Whakaari/White Island eruption.

The vessel, which had two doctors on board, was on a fishing charter a few miles off the island when the eruption happened.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said a fifth body had been located on Monday evening. Maritime NZ was still looking for that person. Updated 6.38pm, March 21, 2022.