A PERSON has died and two others have been hospitalised after a boat capsized on the Camden Haven bar on Saturday.
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Witnesses said the swell on the bar was significant and conditions choppy when the incident unfolded at North Haven before 8am.
The 12-foot fishing boat flipped, throwing all three people, all wearing life jackets, into the water.
Despite the efforts of police, Camden Haven Marine Rescue and a number of surfers, one man, in his 60s, died before he could be saved.
The surfers leapt into the water to join the rescue mission and and helped a second man with a shoulder injury into the Marine Rescue vessel.
The young woman, believed to be a relative of the injured man, managed to get herself to the safety of the southern breakwall.
After the man received first aid at Camden Haven Marine Rescue base, paramedics took both survivors to Port Macquarie Base Hospital.
Police are investigating the incident, and will prepare a brief for the coroner
The vessel involved remains on the southern side of the breakwall, under police guard.
A decaying cold front is bringing a southerly change to the northern New South Wales coast on Saturday morning, while a high pressure system near Adelaide extends a strengthening ridge into the state's west. This ridge is forecast to remain the dominant feature in the region during the next few days, although a weak trough is expected to move along the coast during Sunday.
The forecast for Saturday until midnight -
Winds: Southwesterly 15 to 20 knots turning southerly in the afternoon.
Seas: 1 to 1.5 metres.
Swell: Southeasterly 2 to 3 metres.
Caution: Large and powerful surf conditions are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as crossing bars by boat and rock fishing.
Sunday, April 20 -
Winds: Variable about 10 knots becoming northerly 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon, reaching 20 knots in the evening.
Seas: Below 1 metre, increasing to 1 to 1.5 metres north of Crowdy Head by evening.
Swell: Southerly 2 to 3 metres, decreasing to 1.5 to 2 metres around midday.
Caution: Large and powerful surf conditions in the morning are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as crossing bars by boat and rock fishing.