Lucky escape for boaties wearing life jackets in Wellington Harbour

The trio were 300m away from Somes Island in the Wellington Harbour when their catamaran sunk. File photo/Mark Mitchell

Three life jacket-wearing boaties had a lucky escape from potential tragedy when their catamaran sunk in the Wellington Harbour today.

Police received a call at 11.44am from the occupants of a six metres recreational catamaran, saying their boat was sinking about 300m west of Somes Island.

Not long after, they told police their boat had now sunk, and they were in the sea. All three people were wearing life jackets.

As the people waited for the Wellington Police Maritime Unit vessel to reach the scene, a passing yacht spotted the trio and rescued them from the water, after which they were safely returned to shore.

"Today's incident goes to show just how quickly things can go wrong despite the calm conditions on the water today," said senior launch master Stu Main of the Police Maritime Unit.

The fact they were all wearing lifejackets has prevented what could have been a potentially tragic situation."

In another incident last Sunday, a 6.7m recreational boat collided with the sea breakwater wall just outside the Seaview Marina in Wellington Harbour.

All three people on board sustained injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment. They, too, were all wearing lifejackets.

The boat sustained damaged but was recovered by commercial operators the following day.

Police are investigating both of these boating incidents.