Photo: Greymouth StarThe skipper of the doomed Greymouth fishing boat the Wendy J has reported chaotic scenes on deck as the boat floundered in heavy seas while he and his missing crewmen scrambled for lifejackets on Thursday night. The boat had been in contact with the Wendy J the night before and they were looking to anchor up at Smoothwater Bay." Mr Brown said he believed his skipper was lucky to have survived, but his strong will had played an important role. Mr Thomas had just installed a new diesel engine to his boat which he fishes under contract to Westfleet. "We feel for the families of the missing crew and just hope by chance they are all right," Mr Brown said.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 18, 2017 02:15 UTC