Steve Taylor was pulled unresponsive from the water at the Back Beach in Tāhunanui on New Year’s Eve 2021.
Just over a year later, he was pulled from the same waters but this time, despite rescuer efforts he was not able to be revived.
Stephen Mark Taylor is the 43-year-old man who died after he was pulled from the water around 8pm on Sunday evening.
After he was rescued in 2021 he told the Nelson App that he was a daily swimmer at the beach.
Steve had epilepsy but on that occasion, he did not believe it was a seizure that caused the near-drowning, but a rogue wave which came over him while he was lying on his back.
It is not yet known what caused his death on Sunday but the matter has been referred to the coroner.
In early 2022, Steve said it was not the closest he’d come to death, and it hadn’t deterred him from swimming at the beach daily.
But on Sunday, the father of two entered the water for what would be his last time.
