A fisherman braves weather on Pacific Beach, a few hundred metres south of Napier Port. Photo / Doug Laing
One of the biggest cruise ships on the New Zealand coast this summer bypassed Napier on Friday because of adverse weather on the east coast.
The Grand Princess, which has a capacity of 3100 passengers, advised Napier Port on Thursday that because of the forecast it had been decided to
clear East Cape ahead of the storm and head for Tauranga, its next scheduled stop.
It is scheduled to be back in Napier on December 8, with five other stops at the port through to early April.
While the Port is experiencing one of its busier weeks, a spokesperson said there were not expected to be other disruptions to shipping. The next cruise ship visit is that of the Westerdam, with about 1900 passengers, scheduled for a stopover of less than 12 hours next Wednesday.
A strong wind advisory was in place for the sea off the Hawke's Bay and Mahia-Gisborne coast, forecasting easterlies rising to 30 knots and gusting up to 40 knots east of Napier to Wairoa in the afternoon, along with a southerly swell up to 2.5 metres.
