Five fishermen are lucky to be alive after their small boat sunk in Wellington Harbour over the weekend.
The group were left treading water for around an hour after their vessel, Hustler, sunk between Matiu/Somes Island and Seaview Wharf about 7pm on Sunday.
The Hustler's skipper Kerry McIvor said they "had anchored between Matiu/Somes Island and Petone and were fishing when we started taking on water".
He said while they had a bilge pump, it was unable to handle the amount of water coming in.
"We pulled the anchor up and began motoring back to Seaview but the water coming on board was too great — the stern went under and the boat sank a few hundred metres off Seaview Wharf and all of us ended up in the water."
McIvor said he and a friend "swam about one kilometre to shore, climbed out onto Seaview Wharf and raised the alarm".
"My mate held his mobile phone above his head the whole way."
Sergeant Richard Kennedy of the Wellington Police Maritime Unit said light was fading, and Search and Rescue were on stand-by as a precaution.
Kennedy said while all five members of the group survived their ordeal, three suffered from hypothermia after their lengthy time in the water.
The trio were rescued by Police Rhib Hukatai before being taken to hospital for treatment.
"The fact that they were all wearing life jackets has saved their lives," he said.
The partially-submerged Hustler was found drifting in the shipping lane at the entrance to Wellington Harbour about 9am the next day by a skipper on board a commercial fishing boat.
The boat was removed by the Police Maritime Unit.
While Kennedy was pleased the group were wearing lifejackets, he said that had the group kept their communications devices in water-proof bags, they "may have been able to call for help earlier".
"While a Marine VHF radio or a beacon (Emergency Positioning Radio Beacon — EPIRB) are not always accessible to everyone, they too can be lifesaving pieces of boat safety equipment.
"These were not on this vessel either."
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