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West Aucklanders Eric Lester and his partner Emily Bradley had the gut-wrenching task of picking up the pieces of their wrecked yacht yesterday, after the vessel broke free of its moorings in Friday night's stormy weather and smashed against rocks.
Debris from the 15-year-old Keri Anne, named after Lester's daughter, was strewn across 50 metres of rocks lining Okahu Boat Harbour, near Mission Bay in Auckland. The $25,000 vessel, which had recently been refurbished, was uninsured.
"It's our baby," said Bradley, who said she "yelled and screamed and cried" when the couple were called by Maritime New Zealand about the accident.
Auckland Regional Council officers were towing the wreck to a neighbouring bay.
Meanwhile north of the city, a young driver is lucky to be alive after her car slid in the wet weather and collided with a power pole on the Coatesville Riverhead Highway yesterday.
Albany firestation station officer Ron Henderson said the driver took a notorious corner near Screen Rd too quickly for the conditions. She was taken to North Shore Hospital with minor injuries.
Part of the road was closed to traffic for an hour-and-a-half after the midday accident as the power pole was deemed to be still live.
The crash happened outside the house of Alf Paterson and his wife, Maureen, who said there were up to three incidents a week on the corner in wet weather.
"This patch of road is very slippery, especially when the pine trees drop their pines," she said.
Henderson had a strong warning for drivers venturing out in bad weather. "Drive to the conditions, pay attention and watch your following distance."
Further south, minor land slips hit parts of the Port Hills in Christchurch and closed a section of the Manawatu Gorge. State Highway 3 between Ashhurst and Woodville was shut after an accident involving a car and a truck. Surface flooding also caused problems in Wellington.
MetService says the wet weather that has soaked most of the country is set to continue today, but it won't be as severe as the active front which swept from west to east on Saturday.
Lead forecaster Mark Pascoe said there would still be unsettled conditions nationwide, with eastern parts most likely to escape the forecast short heavy downfalls. There was also the possibility of a few thunderstorms scattered across the country.
Though it was still likely to be wet, temperatures would be mild with highs ranging from around 18C in the north of the North Island to around 12C-13C in the South Island. He said the rest of the week would be "messy and unsettled", with fine spells.
