A scuba diver hunting crayfish off the Canterbury coast returned to the surface to find his younger brother dying of a heart attack on the boat.
An emotional Robert "Grumpy" Grant has spoken for the first time about witnessing the tragic death of his brother Murray, aged 57.
Murray, who was on holiday from Sydney to catch up with family in his hometown of Rangiora, had been the "look out" on the boat while Robert dived for crayfish, about 5km off the coast of Motunau.
Robert, 59, an experienced diver, recalled having only been down a short time before he resurfaced and found his brother slumped over the anchor rope - but still breathing.
"He was alive when I hit the surface. I thought maybe he'd had a hit to his head and been knocked out. I didn't expect the worst. It was such a big shock," he said.
Robert believed his brother, a father-of-three, was in the process of coming to pick him up when the heart attack struck.
The motor on the low-sided diving boat was running but the anchor was down - something emergency services say could have saved Robert's life.
"Fortunately the anchor was overboard securing the boat from leaving the area or I would've come up and thought: 'Where's my boat?' Otherwise I wouldn't have made it to the boat," Robert said.
He drove the boat back to shore where their family were unaware of what had unfolded at sea.
Attempts to resuscitate Murray, including frantic efforts by his nurse sister Maree, were unsuccessful.
Robert said the Grant family were still trying to come to grips with Murray's sudden death on January 2, as he was "100 per cent healthy" and "pretty fit."
"It's like a bad dream. It just ruined the New Year," Robert said.
But looking back, Robert said the situation could have been worse.
"He could've been driving the boat, he could've fallen overboard," he said.
Murray's funeral was held last Saturday, in Sydney, where the builder had lived for about the last 35 years.
A published death notice said Murray, also known as Muzza, Paddlefoot and Yoyo to his friends, was: "A much loved and respected great man by all who knew him".
Robert said his brother was a keen sportsman. He played and coached rugby for Orange City, in New South Wales, and represented Rangiora as a youth. He also played cricket and tennis when he was younger.
Robert described him as "a good apple" - reinforced by his service sheet which said: "There's no such thing as a bad apple, some are sweeter than others."
St John and Westpac intensive care paramedic Rick Knight said if the boat had not been anchored it could have drifted off leaving the diver stranded in deep water.
"It's pretty lucky otherwise the diver would've been a far way out to sea. It could potentially have been two fatals."
He said the man had no cardiac history.
"He looked pretty fit," Mr Knight said.
Canterbury Underwater Club president Wayne Lester added: "If the guy [Murray] had the boat in gear and had the anchor up it could've been anywhere. In that respect the diver was lucky but he was unlucky to lose his partner."
Notice the part I will bold. I wonder if it was starting the motor that got him?
