They were born three weeks apart and were the best of mates.
Now one is dead, and the other is in Dunedin Hospital with serious facial lacerations following a boat accident in Fiordland, which left them drifting together for nine hours.
Jason Nilsen (33) was believed to have died instantly when his 6m aluminium motor boat crashed into rocks in Doubtful Sound late on Sunday night.
His friend, Daniel Young, was knocked out during the incident, and was found the next morning by Department of Conservation staff working in the area in a vessel.
Daniel's mother and father, Trish and Geoff, said the Bluff-based pair shared a love of the water, and had their own oversized dinghy and fishing quota while still at primary school.
On the day of the accident, both friends were in the area - with Mr Nilsen working on a fishing boat, and Mr Young on a chartered tourist boat.
The pair went in Mr Nilsen's motor boat to visit friends, but were not seen again until the following morning.
Mr Young's parents were in West Arm, Fiordland, when their son was discovered.
The couple had intended to meet him later that day, as his season was coming to an end.
In the off-season, he worked as a fisherman, often dividing his time between Bluff and Nelson.
Mr Young senior said they were told at 10.30am on Monday a boat had been discovered, with one man dead and the other seriously injured.
It was noon before they knew their son was alive.
"It was a freak accident. They knew their stuff. They knew all about boats and the coast," Mrs Young said.
Speaking from Dunedin Hospital yesterday, the family said they were thankful for the Doc staff who found their son, the helicopter pilot who transported him, and the staff at Dunedin Hospital who have cared for him.
Daniel's injuries were not life threatening, Mrs Young said.
However, he suffered massive facial injuries, and had facial reconstructive surgery yesterday, "but he still looks like Dan", she said.
When asked how he survived nine hours, seriously injured, in a drifting boat, his wife, Angela Young, said "he would know how angry I would be".
She had two teenage boys in Nelson who were anxious for their stepfather to recover.
They were all too familiar with fishing tragedies, as their father drowned in a fishing accident a decade ago.
"They have been through all this before."
Her husband had not been told of Mr Nilsen's death until Wednesday, and "those emotional scars will take a long time to heal".
A tracheostomy meant he was communicating by writing on a board.
The family plan to return to Bluff today to attend Mr Nilsen's funeral.
