Angry and ashamed at his father's disparaging comments, he lured Kahutia-te-rangi and a large number of the other noble sons of Uenuku into a canoe the next day and took them out to sea.

He had hid the bailer somewhere onshore prior,[6] and as soon as they were far enough he unplugged a preformed hole on the canoe flooring, drowning all members aboard - apart from Kahutia-te-rangi who recited an incantation invoking his ancestor Tangaroa,[6] or the goddess Moakuramanu, to call forth a whale (usually considered to be a southern humpback whale - paikea[8] to carry him ashore.

Kahutia-te-rangi was the sole survivor of his brother's evildoing and assumed the name Paikea as a memorial of the assistance he received from the whale.

In some tellings Ruatapu simply slays everybody with a spear once they're out at sea - again with the exception of Paikea who takes to the oceans and is saved by the gods.

In a version probably recorded from Kaikōura, Paikea was the youngest of Uenuku's sons, and his favourite, which made the other siblings incredibly jealous of him.

Paikea, through feigning his sleep that night, learned of the plan, and so deliberately sunk the canoe the next day himself, killing his brothers.