The boat is "in pieces" after a wild storm hit Wellington yesterday. Photo / Supplied
The boat is "in pieces" after a wild storm hit Wellington yesterday. Photo / Supplied
A man's beloved boat is "in pieces" after a gale-force southerly wind slammed Wellington yesterday, leaving chaos in its wake.
The boat's owner, James, was living on the boat and all his possessions were on board.
A Givealittle page has been set up to raise money for buying necessities and salvaging costs for the wreckage.
The boat came off its mooring in Lowry Bay, in the Lower Hutt suburb of Eastbourne, while James was out running an errand.
"Due to the severe weather, which coastguard described as Wahine weather, the boat was washed into the bay and side of the road, causing holes to the hull," the page said.
The boat was significantly damaged by the time authorities arrived and is now in pieces.
"The boat had been built from the ground up by James as his life dream. All of James' possessions were on board, leaving him with what he had in his car," the page said.
"We will continue being brave, strong and determined through this terrible loss."
The residents have now been allowed back into their home, but have been warned there could be further slips.
There were numerous weather watches and warnings across the region yesterday, including heavy swells, severe rain, strong wind, and snowfall.
Many trains were replaced by buses in the evening causing commuter chaos.
An Interislander ferry was hammered by waves as it navigated the Cook Strait in the morning before six other sailings were canned for the rest of the day.
The yacht at Lowry Bay. Photo / Facebook
Interislander services are sailing to schedule today with all 600 passengers whose travel was cancelled yesterday being accommodated on these sailings.
An additional return sailing will run tomorrow to clear freight backlogs.
The bad weather also grounded all flights for hours yesterday.
Wellington Airport advised flights were able to operate today, but there were flow-on disruptions from the cancelled flights which will take the airlines some time to work through.
Passengers should check directly with their airlines for further information, the airport said.
