A rough Hauraki Gulf crossing turned into an unexpectedly eventful journey for around 30 passengers aboard a car ferry travelling from Aotea/Great Barrier Island to Auckland one Sunday afternoon, after two life rafts broke free from the vessel and were lost at sea.
Among those on board was Bruce Hopkins, an Auckland-based actor recognised internationally for his role as Gamling in The Lord of the Rings, who had been visiting a friend on the island. What would normally be a four-hour trip stretched to six hours as the ferry worked its way through swells Hopkins estimated at up to two metres.
"I've been on boats when you're just smacking into the waves, the end of the swells, and you feel the whole boat just shakes and that was happening," he said. "It was like, 'Whoa, bang.' The skipper was bringing it back, like he wasn't just powering into it. He was doing what he had to be doing and everything."
None of it unsettled Hopkins, who traces his ease at sea to his upbringing. "I come from a commercial fishing background with my father before I got into the performing arts… and so I love being on boats."
The trouble began shortly after the ferry left Tryphena Wharf and met the full force of the open gulf swell. Hopkins had a close-range view as the first raft came loose. "I saw it bounce and roll out of its cradle. It's locked in a cradle on the side of the hull, there's one on each side and it was like, 'Holy, shit that just bounced and rolled off the boat.'"
Other passengers moved across to watch from the rail. As they looked on, the securing rope snapped, the raft inflated on contact with the water, and it drifted back towards the wharf while the ferry continued on towards Auckland.
About an hour later, a second incident unfolded. Hopkins was in the on-board café when the commotion started up again. "I saw this rope across on the other side of the boat through the windows at the cafe and then someone came in and went, 'the other life raft's just gone off'," he said. "The other life raft had snapped out of its cradle." A crew member secured in a harness attempted to recover the raft, but the effort was abandoned and the second raft was lost.
By that point the ferry was well out in the Hauraki Gulf, and turning back was simply not a practical option. Hopkins summed up the reasoning plainly. "We headed to Auckland because you've got no choice then because we were out in the middle of the Hauraki Gulf...you can't just pull in somewhere and go, oh, we can't go anywhere because we haven't got any life rafts." He was also quick to note that the crew handled the situation well throughout and that he felt safe at all times.
Operator SeaLink confirmed that following the loss of both rafts, a sister ship was dispatched as a precaution to accompany the ferry for the remainder of the voyage to Auckland. A company spokesperson said neither passengers nor crew had been placed at risk, and there had been no impact on the vessel's safe navigation. The ferry berthed without incident and all passengers disembarked safely.
"The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority. Our crew acted in accordance with established procedures and made appropriate decisions based on the conditions at sea," the spokesperson said. "We are reviewing the circumstances of both incidents and will take any necessary steps to prevent a recurrence."
SeaLink will be undertaking a full investigation into the two incidents.
The crossing has done nothing to diminish Hopkins's enthusiasm for the destination. "It's just always just such a cool place to go to," he said of Great Barrier Island. "It feels like I've had a whole little holiday, having just been out there for one night."
