9 Dec 2024

Boat smashes into rocks, flights cancelled in strong Wellington wind

1:07 pm on 9 December 2024

A boat has been reduced to a scattering of debris after it broke free of its moorings in rough conditions Wellington harbour Sunday night.

The boat was blown into rocks in front of Wellington Airport - in Evans Bay - just after 8pm.

Harbourmaster Grant Nalder says gusts in the harbour were reaching up to 115km an hour.

He said no one was aboard the vessel and he was in discussions with the owner over the clean up of the wreckage.

A Wellington City Council spokesperson said staff were checking on the extent of damage on the Evans Bay shoreline.

There were multiple reports of signage being swept away and contractors had cleared three fallen trees near the city.

A boat was reduced to debris after it broke free of its moorings in rough conditions Wellington harbour on Sunday 8 December 2024.

A boat was reduced to debris after it broke free of its moorings in rough conditions Wellington harbour on Sunday. Photo: Screengrab / Supplied / Craig Doolan

MetService said waves of up to 3m were measured near the entrance to the harbour at Baring Head.

Wellington Airport said there would be further disruptions on Monday after strong winds also forced flight cancellations on Sunday night.

It said Air New Zealand stopped regional flights into Wellington about 7pm, and eleven further flights were diverted or cancelled - including three international arrivals from Australia which all diverted to Auckland.

"The weather is fine today and normal operations have resumed, but there will be flow-on disruptions today due to the weather yesterday and crewing issues," it said.

Passengers should check with airlines for the status of their flights, the airport said.

A scattering of debris is all that remains of a boat that was washed onto rock in high winds in Wellington's Evans Bay last night.

A scattering of debris is all that remains of a boat that was washed onto rock in high winds in Wellington's Evans Bay last night. Photo: Supplied / Malcom Frazer

Air New Zealand said it cancelled 27 domestic and regional flights on Sunday due to the weather in Wellington.

All customers were rebooked on the next available flight, and there were no weather-related disruptions on Monday morning, it said.

Jetstar said two of its flights were cancelled on Sunday but that included a Wellington to Queenstown flight which was diverted to Christchurch due to strong winds in Queenstown.

On Monday morning, one return Jetstar flight between Wellington and Auckland was cancelled, and two flights on the same route would be delayed on Monday afternoon, it said.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.