A 36-year-old Oamaru man thinks he is lucky to be alive after a whitebaiting trip went wrong at the weekend.
Scott Bremner (36) was whitebaiting at the Waitaki River mouth with a friend yesterday afternoon when he was hit by a wave, Fairfax reported.
He was knocked down by its force and despite efforts by his friend to reach him by pulling him in with his whitebait scoop, Mr Bremner, his waders filling up with water, was caught by the sea and pulled out.
Rescuer Stephen Robertson, of Oamaru, told Fairfax he was trout fishing when his friend called to him to bring his jet boat as a whitebaiter was being pulled out to sea.
Meanwhile, Mr Bremner was lying on his back amidst the "two metre" swells, unaware anyone was coming for him.
"What goes through your head is unexplainable really.
``You are thinking of more than what you would want to be. You are wanting to make it home."
Mr Robertson launched the jet boat after Mr Bremner had been in the water about ten minutes.
"We had gone out, but we couldn't see him in the swell."
They found Mr Bremner about 200 metres from the mouth.
Mr Bremner, too heavy to pull up on to the boat, was dragged along by Mr Robertson and his friend until they reached the river mouth.
It was Mr Bremner's second season and he still considered himself a newcomer, but stressed such an accident could happen at any time.
He advised all whitebaiters to have a life jacket and someone with them, as well as listening to the experience of seasoned fishers.
"I think it was a big wake-up call for myself, my mate, the fisherman and the other whitebaiters that were there on the day," he told Fairfax.