Just one of two men on board a dinghy that sunk in Wellington Harbour today was wearing a life jacket, leaving one of them clinging onto a swimming pool noodle to stay afloat.
Photo: 123RF
When the boat went down at about midday, the man wearing a life jacket struggled to swim 240 metres to shore near Scorching Bay.
The Police Maritime Unit was then deployed to rescue his friend being kept afloat by the pool noodle in rough metre-high swells, and he was retrieved soon after.
He was treated for mild hypothermia.
Senior Constable Roscoe Lane said the men were lucky, and it's a timely reminder for boaties to be prepared before hitting the water.