'Daredevil' drowns in lake tragedy

A young Cromwell man who drowned in Lake Te Anau while celebrating a friend's birthday at the weekend, was described by family and friends yesterday as a daredevil who lived life to the fullest.

Police divers recovered the body of Ricky Joseph Gregory (22) from the lake on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Gregory was reported missing after a dinghy overturned on the lake at 3.30am on Saturday.

He and two friends had rowed in the dinghy to a float plane moored near the jetty area.

The dinghy sank on the return journey.

Senior Sergeant Richard McPhail, of Invercargill, said the incident was "an alcohol-related act that has ended in tragedy".

Mr Gregory's parents, Suzy and Ted, were being comforted by family and friends at their Cromwell home yesterday and told the Otago Daily Times Ricky and his friends were "good kids".

"What happened was just kids up to high jinks; out having fun," Mrs Gregory said.

"They did something silly and this is the consequence."

A group of 10 young people from Cromwell travelled to Te Anau on Friday to celebrate the 23rd birthday of one of the group, Torey Burns.

"Ricky phoned me that night at 7.30 on the way and said there was 10 in the van and they were having such a nice time," Mrs Gregory said.

"They'd all phoned their mums so he thought he would, too. He was laughing because Torey had organised birthday party loot bags for all of them, with chippies and Crunchie bars, and he reckoned he hadn't had a party loot bag in about 10 years."

Mr Gregory had a wide circle of friends and enjoyed nothing more than spending time with his friends.

"He always had a smile on his face and everyone he spoke to became his friend," his father said.

"No matter which town you were in, Ricky would have mates there, " friend Janal Johnston, of Cromwell, said.

Cars and motorcycles were his passion.

His HQ Holden was his pride and joy and he worked hard so he could buy new vehicles.

He competed in motocross for a while but a serious injury sidelined him, so he did motorcycle cross-country events instead.

"He was a bit of a daredevil. Everything was full throttle. He didn't do things by halves," Mrs Gregory said.

At heart, he was a family boy, and protective of his younger sister Lana (20) and brother Chris (16).

He was a big fan of social networking website Facebook.

An "RIP Ricky Gregory" page set up on the site had attracted 143 members by yesterday afternoon.

Mr Gregory was a house painter and had worked for Mark Nossiter since he was 16.

"He's a great worker - honest and enthusiastic - and has a good work ethic," Mr Nossiter said.

"Ricky's just a good wee bloke and we'll miss him."

Senior Sergeant Dave Raynes, of Invercargill, said inquiries were continuing.