Man dies after boat capsize in Foveaux Strait

A man’s body was found by a helicopter in Foveaux Strait last night after the boat he was in capsized when it was hit by a freak wave.  Two men were fishing off the east coast of Dog Island, 5km from Bluff, when the 4.7m boat they were in capsized about 2.30pm.

The boat was spotted by passing fisherman John Dick about 5.30pm and Coastguard was notified. Mr Dick said he spotted something in the distance and realised it was a man sitting on top of the boat. “He was sitting up there and was in good spirits – I was absolutely surprised how good a condition he was in for the time he was on the boat. Lucky boy.  ”He was pretty shaken and cold and was pretty worried about what I think was his father-in-law,” he said.

The man on the upturned boat, who was wearing a lifejacket, told Mr Dick the boat had been hit by a freak wave about 2.30pm and he and the 50-year-old man he was fishing with had climbed on top of the boat. But the 50-year-old man got cold quickly, slipped off the boat and decided to try to swim to Dog Island.

Coastguard volunteer crews from Riverton and Bluff searched along with a local helicopter. The boat was found about 1.5km to the northeast of Dog Island and the man’s body was spotted by one of the helicopters about 500m off the island about 8.50pm.  Coastguard Riverton recovered the man’s body and took him to Bluff.

The man found on the boat was last night recovering in Southland Hospital