Norman Hamill said he and Bann Rowing Club secretary, Victor (63), had just stopped for a rest at the old town bridge after a paddle on the river when Victor suffered a suspected heart attack.

“He said to me ‘I’m not feeling well’ and fell back in the boat”, said Norman.

“I knew straight away that it was serious and I told him to keep going but I knew that he was gone.

“He died with his head on my lap.

“The only consolation is that he died where he spent the best part of his life - on the River Bann.

“He loved the sport of rowing.”

Speaking from his home in Londonderry last night, Norman said that his immediate concern was getting back to shore safely.

“There was huge flood on the river at the time and there was a real danger that we could have certainly capsized.

“There was some difficulty in paddling across the river and various men working at the clubhouse helped to get Victor out of the boat.”

The emergency services were called but efforts to revive him failed.

A former Irish international rower, Victor and Norman had represented Ireland in the coxless pairs at the Home Countries Regatta in London in 1970.

“Victor was a tremendously fit 63-year-old - it was a very untimely death,” Norman added.

Victor, from Mountsandel Road, had a life long passion for the River Bann and performed the role of secretary for Bann Rowing Club several times from the 1960s onwards.

Bann Rowing Club cancelled its Head of the River regatta last Saturday as a mark of respect.

Victor was one of the founders of the Rowing Club at the University of Ulster in Coleraine where he continued to coach until his death last week.

He was a former chairman of both Coleraine Harbour Commissioners and the Lough Neagh Advisory Committee and the current chairman of the River Bann and Lough Neagh Association and the RNLI Coleraine and Castlerock Branch.

A Deputy Lieutenant of Co Londonderry, Victor joined the Ulster Defence Regiment when it was formed, rising to the rank of Commander of E Company and Senior Major of 5 UDR.

He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and was later awarded the MBE for services to the UDR and Royal Irish Regiment.

He was a tireless fundraiser for the Royal British Legion and also worked with West Bann Development Group.

Norman added: “Victor led a full and busy life.

“His passing has been a shock, especially for his wife Lorraine whom he married just over a year ago.”

There was an enormous turnout of mourners at Terrace Row Presbyterian Church in Coleraine for his funeral service last Saturday afternoon.

Victor is survived by his wife Lorraine, sons Jonathan and David, brother Norman, daughter-in-law Lesley and grandsons Fergus and Patrick.

Burial took place afterwards at the new cemetery in Portstewart.