Tag Archives: F/V Debbie Jane
A skipper named ‘Crazy Horse’, a ‘dicky’ autopilot and a sailing trip that foundered on a beach
After hours of sailing a 14m fishing vessel on “an extremely erratic” course up the coast towards Christchurch, doubling back and then turning around again to head in the same direction closer to the shore, skipper David “Crazy Horse” Atkinson was lost. It was 9pm, he was not sure where he was, and he only had rudimentary knowledge of how to use the boat’s navigational equipment. His crew aboard the trawler, the F/V Debbie Jane, consisted of a 41-year-old woman and a 73-year-old retired school teacher who was living with him – neither of whom had any commercial fishing experience. >click to read< 08:03
Trawler skipper who got lost off Christchurch admits safety breaches
Shortly before a trawler skipper lost his bearings in gathering darkness off the Christchurch coast, one of his crew had rolled him a cannabis joint. Maritime New Zealand’s summary of facts does not say whether the skipper, 67-year-old David Anderson, actually smoked the joint, but the trawler ran aground on Waimairi Beach a few hours later. The F/V Debbie Jane’s disastrous trip from Akaroa to Nelson in December 2019 was detailed in the Christchurch District Court, when Anderson admitted two charges. >click to read< 07:48
‘I’ve been here all the time’
Elusive mariner David Atkinson has told a court he wasn’t hiding during the months he was out of contact with the justice system. However, he still has not spoken to his lawyer about charges laid by Maritime NZ over a trawler that grounded on a beach near Christchurch in 2019. Atkinson appeared on driving matters before Judge Russell Cooper in the Hastings District Court today. Discussion soon turned to an arrest warrant issued in the Christchurch District Court last month after it heard that Atkinson had been off the radar since September last year. >click to read< 07:58
Boat removed after running aground on Christchurch beach
A 13-metre long fishing boat that ran aground on a Christchurch beach to protect an “inexperienced crew’s safety” has been removed. Contractors had been working intermittently during low tide since Sunday morning to deconstruct and remove the boat, deemed “unsalvageable” after grinding to a halt on Waimairi Beach. The vessel, Debbie Jane, was on its way from Banks Peninsula to Motueka, near Nelson, when it ran aground well off course on Saturday night. >click to read< 14:05
Skipper who ground boat on Christchurch beach blames ‘shocking’ weather. Work under way to remove,,,
David “Crazy Horse” Atkinson was the taking the 13-metre Debbie Jane from Banks Peninsula to Motueka, near Nelson, when it ground to a halt well off course at Waimairi Beach on Saturday night. The conditions were “shocking”, he said. He and his two crew members were rescued by a swimmer from a helicopter, and taken to Christchurch Hospital where they were treated for hypothermia. >click to read< 11:07
Work under way to remove boat from Christchurch beach – >click to read< 11:13
