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    Man killed in jet boat race accident
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    Police have released the name of the man killed in a fatal jetboat accident at the World Championship Jetboat Marathon in Canterbury this morning.
    He was 47-year-old Duayne Barry Insley from Glenorchy.

    The accident occurred around 10.50am at the Waimakariri River and brought racing to a stop.

    A St John Ambulance spokesperson says staff attended but did not take anyone to hospital because the patient had already died. There were no other injuries.

    The New Zealand Jet Boat River Racing Association said Insley was a navigator of the race boat CX21.

    In a statement on its Facebook page, the association said it had "lost one of its family members".

    "Details of exactly how the incident happened are still under investigation but it occurred in the braided section of the river about 10 to 15 minutes above the area known as 'the pylons'," it said.
    "Our heart felt condolences go out to the Duayne's wife ... and their family."

    The driver of the boat escaped without injury, the statement said. Dwayne Terry was examined by paramedics, who quickly arrived at the scene.

    Association President and fellow competitor John Derry expressed his condolences on behalf of all teams, saying: "Despite us all knowing the dangers of competitive motorsport it is never easy to deal with the reality of an accident that takes away one of our family or friends."

    As a mark of respect racing was cancelled for the remainder of the day with teams expected to recommence competition on Tuesday south of Christchurch on the Rakaia River. The marathon ends in Queenstown next Saturday.

    It is just the second day of the week-long world championship competition, taking place on eight rivers across the South Island.

    Today's event was the Waimakariri Up and Down, which followed the Circuit Time Trail yesterday.

    NZJBRRA spokesman Paul Mullan earlier said the man who died was a Kiwi and was well known within the racing community.

    Mullan said the accident had hit people hard and he believed some of the man's family members were at the race. However it was unlikely there were spectators at the area where the accident happened as it was difficult to access.

    The man was completing leg 2 of the race which was a 140km lap.

    "Everybody is devastated it's a close knit family the racing fraternity," Mullan told the*Herald.

    "Everybody on all sides of the globe who are involved in racing know somebody who knows this person ... It's an absolute tragedy."

    Mullan did not know why the accident had occurred and said the weather conditions were perfect.

    Fatal accidents were rare in the sport and they had stringent safety standards such as mandatory roll cages and full harnesses, said Mullan, who has been involved in jet boating for 30 years.

    The annual race alternates between being held in New Zealand, America, Mexico and Canada. But the New Zealand one is often the biggest as the country is known for "being a pioneering part of the world for jet boating", Mullan said.

    The marathon race consisted of 15 legs to be held over the week, the fastest boat overall will win in four classes.


    Mullan hoped racing would resume tomorrow but said that would be determined by the organisers tonight as to whether the marathon would be continued.

    Maritime New Zealand says police are leading the investigation on behalf of the Coroner.

    Spokesman Vince Cholewa said Maritime NZ will help police as required.


    http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/nat...race-accident/
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    Fatal jet boat crash 'just a freak accident', driver says

    World champion jet boat driver Dwayne Terry didn't see*the log*that killed his best mate and navigator.

    Terry and his best friend of 17 years, Duayne Insley, were jet boat racing on the Waimakariri River, north of Christchurch, on Sunday when Insley, sitting on the right side of the jet boat,*collided with a*protruding log. He was killed instantly.

    The long-established racing pair were competing in their boat,*named Constipated, for their team "Hard to Pass"*on the second day of the week-long World Championship Jetboat Marathon.*

    The former world champions came to grief when they decided to leave the main channel of the river to go down a side channel in the hope*of finding a short cut.

    The bank was about 1.5 metres above the narrow channel, with the branch-less log lying across the channel and almost impossible to see at the 160kmh the jet boat was travelling.

    "We literally did not see it. I felt a bump, looked around and then realised something was wrong. I didn't even know we had hit anything until after," Terry said.

    "The log just happened to be at the wrong height and it just missed the roll cage, it missed the boat, missed everything it just happened to hit Duayne in the head."

    Duayne Insley died when he was struck by a log hanging over the river.

    Terry said the crash was "just a freak accident".

    "No safety precaution in the world would have stopped what happened [on Sunday].

    "There's absolutely no blame to be placed on the race organisers or the patrol boats or anyone who had anything to do with the event. The event was run to a extremely high standard."

    It was "an impossibility" to expect every hazard to be cleared, he said.

    "We were looking at where we were going but the thing that jumped out and got us we didn't see, it was camouflaged."

    Jet boat racing, like any motorsport, was "risky", Terry said.

    "It's something every racer and navigator talks about. There won't be a team in this marathon that hasn't had the discussion about the what-ifs but we love this sport.

    "It's exciting, it's fun and we take every precaution."

    Insley was "like a brother",*Terry said. The pair had worked together at Dart River Safaris, based in Queenstown,*for about five years, sparking*their passion for jet boat racing.

    "We did it for a living and then we both started racing and I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather do it with than my old mate Duayne."

    Insley's experience as a driver made him "the perfect navigator".

    "We've been successful since day one."

    After they won the World Championships in 2013, they travelled to Monte Carlo with their wives for the prizegiving.

    "Ever since we've known each other, we've been extremely close – Duayne and Dwayne, we were best mates."

    They started the weekend with hopes of finishing in the top five. They finished*the first day in top place in their class and 12th overall.

    "We were really excited about the rest of the week . . . We were going really, really well so it's an absolute s...*way to end it."

    Terry said he had made a promise to his children he would never race again.

    "I couldn't race with anyone else other than Duayne, without him I don't want to do it.

    "I don't think my head would ever be in the right space again after this tragedy."

    He said the wider team was "sticking together" as they mourned Insley's death.

    "We've all sat here and we know that Duayne has died doing something that he loved doing.

    "He absolutely loved it and it's a blessing that he didn't see what was coming – he went out on top."

    Insley, who was a member of Glenorchy*Community Association was well-known about town, chairman John Glover said.

    "Duayne has served on the community association for quite some time.*That's reflective of the person who wants to give back to the community," he said.

    "[He was] a*man of action,*very*passionate*about better outcomes for the town."

    Graeme Jackson managed Dart Safaris when Insley was employed over a decade ago as a jet boat driver.

    "He was a good true-blue Kiwi.

    "He's just a loving man who would do anything for anyone."

    Insley owned Glenorchy tourism company High Country Horses with his wife,*Deana Insley.

    The company website said Insley came from the central North Island*and moved south to work on the Routeburn Sheep Station in 1997.

    The New Zealand Jet Boat River Racing Association said in a statement that it "lost one of its family members".

    "It is with deep sadness we must acknowledge the loss of one of our jet boat racing family," a spokesman said.

    "Our heartfelt condolences go out to Duayne's wife Deana and their family, as well as Dwayne Terry and his family."

    The association's president and fellow marathon competitor John Derry said all the teams involved were saddened by Insley's death.

    "Despite us all knowing the dangers of competitive motorsport it is never easy to deal with the reality of an accident that takes away one of our family or friends.

    "The competition was called off on Sunday after the accident "as a mark of respect" and would resume on*Tuesday on the Rakaia River south of Christchurch.

    Detective Sergeant Joanne Parks said police were investigating on behalf of the coroner. A scene examination had been completed and the jet boat removed.*Parks declined to comment further.

    Story with Photos:
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/979...nt-driver-says
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    I heard about this last year. It is definitely a tragedy.
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