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John Dixon was struggling to breathe when he heard the familiar lapping of water and the sound of raised voices in Tairua Harbor.
Two boats, speeding by on both sides of the yacht where he lives, had awakened his partner Christine.
The wind and the wake of the ships He picked up his own yacht and tossed it into the boat, jabbing it, Dixon said.
Angry, he jumped into the boat: “I thought I’d give them some of their own medicine and see if they liked it, so I made some donuts.”
READ MORE:
* A woman wielding an oar in the boat rage video on the Coromandel Peninsula is a local teacher
* The fury of a ship in a Coromandel port ends in assault and sinking of the ship.
Dixon raises his hands while talking to Stuff: “At the end of the day, it was my fault.
“I shouldn’t have done it, I was worried about my life.”
Dominico Zapata / Things
John Dixon and his partner Christine in Tairua. Dixon says he “made an idiot and lost his cool,” but high-speed boats had been building for months.
Dixon is now infamous for his involvement in a fierce boat showdown on January 23, where video of the incident made headlines.
It involved him following and crashing into a speeding boat, where expletives flew between him and two female occupants. One was the assistant principal of the Tairua school, Catherine Browning, who ended up jumping out of the boat and throwing an oar at him.
Dominico Zapata / Things
Despite the beauty of the natural environment, a fierce fight unfolded off the shores of Tairua this summer.
In Dixon’s account, he followed both recipients, aiming to give them a “taste of his own medicine,” but only wanted to ram them once.
“I became an idiot, I lost my cool.”
He said he didn’t see the children on board, but heard a couple of “loudmouths.”
A woman’s voice was heard saying, “P … ass. Piece of …”
He replied, “You piece of shit …”. You just caused $ 1000 worth of damage … you walk past my boat, swing it if you’re not making five knots. “
Supplied
John Dixon says he regrets the incident in the water and feels bad for Catherine Browning, the other party involved.
At this point, his boat was sinking, but in an effort to splash the other boat he misjudged the turn and rammed it again, Dixon said.
Browning has not responded to several Stuff try to contact her.
Dixon claims that the speed caused around $ 1000 in damage to his boat. But the repercussions for both parties could be far worse than the huge hole in the raft.
No charges have yet been filed and police are investigating the incident.
The past of Dixon’s wrath
Dixon’s past has resurfaced: In 1978, when he was 16, he inflicted fatal head injuries to night watchman Joseph “Little Joe” Hishon outside Ruakura Agricultural Center in Hamilton.
Dixon was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Media reports show that he served eight years before being released on parole in 1987.
Waikato Times Articles from the period report that the 51-year-old died of a skull fracture and brain damage, and was found lying in a pool of blood.
He admitted to court that he kicked Hishon in the head, but did not intend to kill him.
Corrections were made to the parole board last week to return Dixon to prison on grounds that he poses a risk to the public.
The parole board has denied that request, but will meet with Dixon next month.
Dixon said he’s been dealing with his anger his entire life, and it’s the “people I love who suffer.”
“I was kicked out of the house around 11, supposedly uncontrollable … it was all tough love back then.”
He was sent to a children’s home, which was later closed due to harsh conditions.
He was a lost “street kid” whose life changed forever after his murder conviction, he said.
It’s hard to be judged for something you did more than 40 years ago, but you do think about the victims, he said.
“Those are the people I feel worst for, they are the victims, the Hishons and their family, all this has dragged them through the mud again … you know, I think it was a twin,” Dixon said at the end off .
Stuff he also understands that Browning’s job could be at stake. Acting Director Murray McDonald said a “process” is underway but doesn’t say more.
Dixon admits he feels bad for Browning.
“I feel bad for her, that’s her life’s work in danger.”
Mr_wiski / Youtube
A man was caught on camera ramming a family’s boat and sinking his in a boat rage incident in Tairua.
A build up behind the rage
Dixon has a serious heart condition that includes times when his heart rate increases at high speeds and cannot slow down, he said.
His boat was particularly important to him getting back ashore, as medical aid in port could be difficult, Dixon said.
Boats at high speed were a “constant” on the yacht where he has lived for the last three years.
He and Christine regularly have spilled drinks, overturned dishes, and occasionally crash into their yacht.
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Tairua boats say they are constantly disturbed by the speed of the boats, annoying swimmers, kayakers and other boats.
According to Maritime New Zealand rules, boats must travel at 5 knots within 50m of other boats and at 5 knots within 50m of other swimmers.
“I’m sorry I lost my rag, but at the same time, I don’t want to get stuck in my boat dying because a bunch of idiots can’t obey the law of the sea.”
‘It was always going to happen in Tairua’
Local boatmen say the Tairua boat rage incident “is always going to happen.”
Tairua Ferry operator Rob Glasgow said he has been complaining about the speed of ships through the port of Tairua to the Waikato Regional Council for the past five years.
From Boxing Day through the anniversary weekend, the high-speed boats happen several times an hour.
Dominico Zapata / Things
Tairua Ferry operator Rob Glasgow said he has been complaining about the speed of the boats for five years.
“It is extremely dangerous.”
Boat after boat, jet ski after jet ski whiz by, “jumping like a three-year-old on sugar,” he said.
Kayakers, swimmers, wakeboarders and moorings are in danger from speed.
“There is no reason for these people to be so inconsiderate of their neighbors.”
Glasgow said Tairua needed a full-time port captain.
Currently, a port captain from the Waikato Regional Council traveled from Whangamatā to examine the behavior of the water sporadically.
A marine contractor, who did not want to be identified, told him Stuff the summer of 2020-2021 was the worst it has seen on high speed boats.
“Nine times out of ten incidents and speed come from inexperience.”
He travels between the Coromandel ports and said that Tairua is the worst of all.
It was a constant frustration and stress for those who lived and worked in the water, he said.
The Tairua Ship Fury incident was an unfortunate tip of the iceberg to a problem that has been developing for years, he said.
To me, she shouldn’t have done it, there’s no question she shouldn’t have, but they shouldn’t have sped past her boat, and she shouldn’t have hit him with the paddle.
“They were both wrong.”
