However, lotsa second guessing going on. The actual conditions (vs the forecast) didn't sound so bad. .

Nobody on the vessel seemed to be too concerned at the time. If you are regularly fishing the Kings, 30 knots and 2 to 5 metre swells are par for the course. The issue really seems to be the decision to round North Cape, not use the anchorages on the other side and then get too close to the cape on the way round giving the building seas a chance to break instead of sliiping under the boat. Two to five  nautical miles further off the cape on the way round  and we probably wouldn't have anything to talk about.

Be interesting to see the TV doco, but I am cautious about the sensationalisation of those who haven't walked in those shoes and even may have an axe to grind. Even a commercial guy whose job is to pull pots close to the islands doesn't have the same set of circumstances to make a decision about working that day vs the passage back.

I wouldnt characterise Nat Davey as a guy whose job is to pull pots....  and Steve Angus AKA Swordfish Steve is also has a fair bit of experience under his belt.  It  will be interesting to see the final report from Maritime New Zealand

I don't know Lance Goodhew and have never fished on Enchanter or any of his boats but I am just concerned that it is easy to portray someone or some event on TV with a degree of prejudice using people who state themselves that they had a beef with the person involved.

The Maritime report will, I am sure, deal with the events and conditions on the day, not random accusations of possible past misdeeds.

That will surely be where this tragedy will be fully investigated, and it will only involve evidence from those who were involved/eye witnesses, and experts on the vessel design, potential cause of waves, etc etc - all on the witness stand being asked questions by the coroner. 

That will presumably include the skipper, crew, surviving clients, other skippers on the water at the time, forecasters - whoever.

People speculating or with other agendas won't be part of that process.

The coroner will then comment on what led to the loss of life, and make recommendations on changes for the future.

from the article in the paper, it sounded like there's a time limit on the marine authorities' investigation, then I presume the coroner will step in.

The case of the pilot boat that hit the swimmer off Narrowneck followed a similar path, ending up with a Coroner's findings. As have other marine tragedies.

were they running across a shoaling area in a N/E wind which might cause waves to pile up?

the massive glass area on the boat and the light timber mullions for a offshore rated vessel

the risk presented by the huge enclosed cockpit