Islander families bereft after fishing trip tragedy

NEW ZEALAND – They were husbands and dads. Cousins and mates. Proud men whose heritage spanned the Pacific - Tonga, the Cook Islands and Samoa.

The men were all on board the Francie when it went down in heaving seas at the Kaipara Harbour entrance on Saturday –a day of fun and food gathering that turned to tragedy.

The sinking of the Francie is one of New Zealand’s worst maritime tragedies.

It is a tragedy that is reverberating around the South Pacific and New Zealand’s Pasifika community in Auckland. Most of the Pacific island men who died were well known to Auckland fishing charter operators.

A skipper who had taken most of the men out, some on numerous occasions, said they loved to fish, but it was not simply recreational.

They fished to feed their families and paid about $80 each on Saturday to do so, he said.

While the men fished both the east and west coasts, they preferred Auckland’s rougher west coast where the snapper limit was 10, rather than seven.

Tim Jago, from the Muriwai Surf Club, told Radio New Zealand that none of the bodies found by club members had lifejackets on.

Tongan Sunia “Junior” Unga’unga was a father of four in his 30s. He died alongside his cousin, Alipate Manumu’a.

The pair would fish together most weekends and chartered the Francie with friends once a month.

Junior worked at Independent Liquor and the New Zealand Herald understands a number of the other men on board the Francie also worked at Independent Liquor.

Tongan Alipate ‘Pate’ Manumu’a died alongside his cousin on the Francie fishing charter.

He was in his 30s and father to three children. His oldest child turned seven on Sunday –the day after the tragedy.

Tongan Tevita Tangi, who was also known as David, was the youngest on board the Francie.

The 31-year-old father of four attended Tangaroa College and had previously worked at a Manukau night club as a bar bouncer.

Friends and relatives have been expressing grief and shock over Tangi’s death on social media. One friend wrote Tangi was “a loving family man who turned his life around for the better.”

Tongan Fonua Taufa is survived by his wife, Debbie Taufa. After learning of her husband’s tragic death, she posted a photo of the pair together on social media with the words: “Lord, please help me to be strong.”

Earlier photos of the pair together had attracted comments from friends and family jokingly describing them as Romeo and Juliet.

Fred Marsters was a Cook Island father-of-three who hailed from an island renown for fishing. Consul General Rosie Blake said Marsters came from the smallest island in the Cook archipelago where its inhabitants were famed for their fishing prowess. “They are men of the sea,” she said.

His wife Ann Marsters has told of her heartbreak at losing her partner of 37 years. She is dying of cancer.

Taulagi Afamasaga is the last unaccounted fisherman from the tragic Francie capsize. His daughter Amy Yerro told the Herald her father was a “humble” and “generous” man.

She said the family were “barely hanging on” and that they just wanted him home. The search for Afamasaga continued at first light this morning.

Also amongst the dead is Auerua Ngametuaangai Aria, 59-years-old, a Cook Islander.

Iripa Iripa was the only survivor from the Francie capsize that managed to swim to shore, clinging to four lifejackets.

Iripa was in the four metre swells for hours and by the time he made it into Muriwai Beach his ribs were broken and his clothes had been stripped off his body. His first words to rescuers on shore were: “How many survived?” Iripa was released from hospital yesterday.

An unidentified survivor was seen bobbing in the ocean clinging to a chilly bin after the fishing charter capsized. He was plucked from the swells by a helicopter winch and flown to nearby Muriwai Beach.

Another unidentified survivor who was wearing a lifejacket was pulled out of the ocean via a rescue helicopter winch and flown to Muriwai Beach.

Bill McNatty, the skipper is described as a “happy-go-lucky” seaman with more than 100 fishing charter trips under his belt.

He was a father and he lived in Shelly Beach with his partner, Wendy Marshall.

Kaipara boaties have condemned the actions of McNatty in taking the boat out in rough conditions on Saturday.

One described him as a “bloody idiot” for heading out when he should have known better.

Another said it was a nightmare come true, after he previously warned McNatty how dangerous it was to cross the bar at Kaipara Harbour.

The boat involved in the Kaipara Harbour tragedy, that left seven people dead with another missing, had to be rescued just weeks before.

Coastguard spokeswoman Monique Caddy confirmed on Monday that Francie, under skipper William “Bill” McNatty, had to be rescued from the Kaipara Harbour on October 30.

She said the Coastguard towed The Francie back to shore as a result of a “mechanical issue.”

Prime Minister John Key hoped boaties would learn from the deaths that “they’ve got to wear a lifejacket”.

“And if they don’t, they could claim the life of someone they love.”

Mr Key said in the past it proved difficult to make the wearing of lifejackets compulsory, but the government could “come back to”.

“I think it’s got to be as much culture as the law.”

Mr Key said it should be the skipper’s responsibility to make sure all passengers wore lifejackets.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has started an investigation into the capsizing. It said any safety issues identified in the early phases of the inquiry would be addressed through urgent safety recommendations.

- PNC sources/NZH