A Northland boatie captured a waterspout in Whangārei Harbour. Photo: Chris Howe
A Northland boatie has captured a waterspout on camera as he was sailing out of Whangārei Harbour.
Chris Howe told RNZ on Saturday afternoon he could see a thunderstorm heading towards his vessel from the west.
"There was lots of lightning, and being in a sailing boat is concerning with the tall conductive mast."
One member of Howe's crew then spotted something forming over the Mount Mania range of Whangārei Heads.
"I managed to grab my camera and take the photographs before we decided that we actually needed to think about where we were and the situation we were in," Howe said.
A second waterspout then began to form in the approaching storm, and Howe said it was not possible for his vessel to outrun the storm safely.
A second waterspout was captured in the approaching storm. Photo: Chris Howe
The three crew members decided the safest option was to spend time holding position at low power in open water.
Howe said thankfully the second water spout did not come to anything.
After 45 minutes holding position, they decided to head back to land, but their biggest concern was a lightning strike.
"The more immediate concern was now lightning, particularly given that we were on a large-masted vessel effectively acting as a conductor in the open harbour water."
They decided to enter Smugglers Bay and anchor near higher terrain to reduce exposure.
"As the system moved east, lightning activity gradually reduced and became more distant. Conditions have since eased and no damage was sustained.
"While the situation was manageable, it was genuinely concerning for a period, and required careful judgement to balance the risks of remaining offshore versus sheltering near land."
MetService early on Saturday afternoon issued a thunderstorm warning for Whangārei, saying it had detected "severe" storms near Bream Head, Pataua, Taiharuru, Opahi, Purua and Hikurangi. They were expected to be "accompanied by torrential rain and large hail". Just after 2pm the forecaster said they were no longer considered "severe".
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