Clarks Beach boat capsize: Man charged with manslaughter can now be named

A man charged with manslaughter after a fatal boating incident in the Manukau Harbour late last year has pleaded not guilty and can now be named.

Kevin McQuire appeared at the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday, where he entered not guilty pleas through his lawyer Guyon Foley.

The boat capsized in the harbour near Clarks Beach at night on November 6, 2022.

Gemma Ferregel died during the incident and her 10-year-old son Ryder remains missing at sea, police previously said.

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McQuire previously had interim name suppression, however Foley confirmed no further orders were being sought.

Justice Sally Fitzgerald set a trial date down for July 2024 and remanded McQuire on bail.

Rachael Speedy, a Clarks Beach local, previously said she saw two men come ashore after the boat capsized one Sunday evening.

“I was sitting on the deck, and I saw people coming out of the water. They told us they have been in a boating accident, and they swam ashore because there was no one to help rescue them.

“They’d been in the water for about four or five hours and swam in when the tide turned,” she said.

Despite a search that spanned several days and involved use of helicopters, Ryder was not recovered after the incident.

The boy was a student at Sandspit Road School in Waiuku and a member of the Pukekohe Motorcycle Club.

At the time, Franklin Ward councillor Andy Baker said the community had been left reeling by the incident.

“We deal with it, but it’s really, really hard in a little town like this where you know everyone. It’s been really tough.”