The Photo Gallery | Two… Masts arrived in a storm

‘Two’ is the theme this week on ‘The Photo Gallery’ and this morning, on World Environment Day, 5 June 2013, an amazing sight met my eyes as I drove along Wellington’s south coast, on the way to my oldest daughter’s school.

The wild storm of last night trapped a waka crew anchored in heavy seas. The waka, a 22-metre ocean-going Te Matau a Maui, encountered trouble off the coast of Island Bay in Wellington. The 14-strong crew was forced to drop anchor and spend the night just offshore, as a rescue may have ended up tipping the waka. The crew had radioed authorities saying they would ride it out overnight.

The waka had sailed from Napier to Wellington to mark Matariki – the Moari New Year.

Its two masts were clearly visible as I drove around the bays; a very unusual sight in Island Bay and the crew were fortunate to get into the bay safely. The local Island Bay community quickly rallied around to welcome them and help secure the waka to other vessels in the bay, to prevent it from being washed ashore.

I returned with my other two daughters, later in the day. They had the playground to themselves in the blustery southerly, but weren’t to be deterred from playing!