While most people battened down the hatches for the arrival of Saturday's big blow, Tauranga's elite kiteboarders just got excited.
Winds blasting down the harbour, gusting to 100km/h, were an irresistible attraction to the Bay's most experienced kiteboarders including instructor Jesse Tuck and the man ranked third in the world for the sport, Marc Jacobs.
The two athletes turned on a dazzling display of their skills to a battery of cameramen eager to record how the two men would respond to the challenge of winds that less experienced kiteboarders dared not tackle.
"I just get excited when I hear weather bombs are coming," Tuck said.
He found the conditions off Fergusson Park on Saturday exhilarating, declaring that he "absolutely loved it".