FAMILY TIES

AN EXTRAORDINARY FAMILY'S CRUISING LIFE LEADS THEM IN THE WAKE OF A BROTHER CAPTURED BY THE KHMER ROUGE. THERESA NICHOLSON REPORTS

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Rob Hamill wasn’t supposed to be in the water that day. Although he was tempted by the gentle cyan waves in the remote Thai anchorage, doctors had treated an infected area on his neck a few days prior and ordered him to stay out of the sea. But his three sons - Finn, Declan and Ivan - were knocking about in Ko Roc’s clear water, free diving to impressive depths, pushing each other to new limits.

Finn was squeezing the last drops of adventure — along with some precious family time - out of his too-short visit before returning to Europe to continue his training for the New Zealand Olympic rowing team. The 21-year-old carried the same competitive spirit as his dad and was keen to match his 19-year-old brother Declan’s 30m free dive. Rob, unable to resist, fitted his mask and slipped off the stern of the family’s long-time home, Javelot.

DEEP DROP

The 43ft Fountaine Pajot was anchored on the edge of a deep drop-off in the remote southern Thailand marine preserve and the boys used light weights attached to the anchor line to guide them down into the depths. Close in age and interests, they had grown up aboard Javelot. Rob dove under, watched Finn swim down and spotted Declan kicking off the sea bottom 6m down. When Declan came to the surface, he was gasping for air, briefly dazed from a lack of oxygen. Rob surfaced and took a close look at him as Ivan held him in the water. Suddenly, Rob realized Finn hadn’t surfaced. Jabbing his head under, he saw what no parent ever wants to see: Finn floating lifeless, arms wide like a starfish, 6m down in the deep blue water.

“He's gone! Finn’s gone!” Rob called out to Declan, Ivan and his wife, Rachel.

Finn had blacked out on his ascent and was drifting toward the deepwater drop-off. Rob dove after him and, together with Declan and Ivan, pushed and dragged him to the surface.