Man dies following fall from yacht | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

A 74-YEAR-OLD city man has died from injuries he sustained after falling from scaffolding last week.

Police said Gavin Rusbatch was working on his yacht when he fell about 1.5m on Friday.

The Lyttelton man died in Christchurch Hospital from head injuries.

The port township's yachting community has been shocked by news of Mr Rusbatch's death.

One yachtie at the marina yesterday said he was known for being safety conscious and it had made them more aware of the dangers of working on scaffolding.

Lyttelton Naval Point Yacht Club commodore Mark Quail said Mr Rusbatch, who at 1.9m tall was known as 'Big Gav', was "one of the characters around the place" and "one of those gentle giants."

"He was great with kids, great with animals. He always had dog biscuits in his car. He was a lovely man ... just a great old chap."

"He was a big fella. We were thinking it would be something like a heart attack ... not an accident."

Mr Quail said Mr Rusbatch used to teach schoolchildren - including his own children - how to aim and shoot at a rifle range under what is now The Loons venue. He bought an old launch, called Safari, and had spent a number of years doing it up, Mr Quail said. He could be seen at the marina working on the yacht nearly every day.

"I think he liked being down there with everyone," Mr Quail said.

Mourners gathered in Richmond for his funeral yesterday, where friends and family spoke of a local icon who loved his family and was passionate about the ocean, boats and fishing.

Police said they were waiting for the results of a post-mortem before determining the cause of Mr Rusbatch's death.

His death has been referred to the coroner.