Fourteen people aboard a double hulled waka that has anchored just off the shore at Island Bay have told the Coast Guard they will stay aboard tonight and ride out the raging storm that has hit Wellington.



The crew of the 22-metre Te Matau a Maui waka radioed the Coast Guard to say they were OK and had dropped anchor. They were not willing to risk being beached and felt they were not at risk of drifting out to sea.



High winds had ruled out them attempting to go further around the coast into Wellington harbour.



Crew member Belinda Averill wrote on her Facebook page tonight: ‘‘We r ok! Character building and life affirming :-)



The waka ran into trouble off Island Bay, on Wellington’s south coast, as torrential rain and gusty winds battered the capital.



Police said the waka had been forced to anchor for the night as the weather closed in around it.



Winds have been gusting up to 81kmh in Wellington tonight and forecast to reach speeds up to 120kmh. There were swells of 4 to 6 metres tonight.



Te Matau a Maui was sailing from Napier to Wellington to mark Matariki, the Maori new year. It got into the relative shelter of Island Bay after 6pm.



Boat owner Chris Gifford said he was amazed the waka had not struck other boats.



Another witness said it appeared as if strong winds were blowing the waka towards the shore.



Maritime police’s Senior Sergeant Dave Houston said conditions around Wellington were ‘‘pretty horrendous’’ .



‘‘It'll be pretty bumpy for them. There's a bit of a risk they'll drag their anchor and end up on the beach.’’



Maritime police did not want to tow the waka in, in case it flipped.

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KENT BLECHYNDEN/Fairfax NZ GRIM NIGHT: A waka with 14 people on board is riding out the weather off Island Bay, on Wellington’s south coast as torrential rain and gusty winds batter the capital.