Swells of almost 3 metres hit Hawke's Bay and prevented vessels from berthing

Big swells around the Hawke's Bay coastline prevented a number of container vessels from berthing at Napier Port on Wednesday.

Coastguard Hawke's Bay recorded a swell of almost 3 metres on Tuesday night.

Three ships were seen anchored off the coast from Bluff Hill on Wednesday morning and a Napier Port spokesman said they were waiting for the swell to "reduce to a safe level."

Vessels Maersk Garonne, Rio Negro and Spirit of Shanghai were likely to be coming into the port at 8pm at the earliest tonight.

Container vessels are waiting for the large swell to die down before they can berth at Napier Port. Photo / Warren Buckland

Skipper Henry van Tuel said he experienced the big swell while out on the water off Westshore during training on February 2.

"The swell got up to 2.9m at about 7.30pm - that was measured by a wave buoy at Napier Port," he said.

Van Tuel said he thought the swell would've eased, but this morning the buoy was still recording a swell of 2.7m.

He said winds from a big low sitting below New Zealand were driving the big swell around the region.

"Although there aren't any really strong winds in Hawke's Bay, way offshore there is quite a blow," he said.

The southeast swell was expected to ease to 1.5m by this evening, according to MetService.

Tomorrow, a southerly is expected to develop early, increasing from 30km/h to 50km/h in the afternoon.

The southeast swell will be between 1 to 1.5m in the morning, changing to a southerly swell and increasing back to 2.5m later on in the day.

Coastguard Hawke's Bay skipper Henry van Tuel alongside fellow skipper Jo Willis. Photo / Paul Taylor

The four-day long Megafish competition in Napier is set to start tomorrow.

Your Solutions MegaFish 2021 main sponsor Adam Satherley said the fishing competition will still be happening, regardless of the weather conditions.

"With what's forecast, each night we will have a committee meeting to determine whether we run the competition the next day or not," he said. "The big swell isn't ideal but the event will still be going ahead."

Satherley said if they're unable to fish they will still be giving away prizes in the lucky draw.

Coastguard's Van Tuel advised those going out on their boats to take extra care in the swell over the next few days.

"It's not so bad going out because you're facing into the waves," he said. "The real risk is when you come back into the channel."

"What happens is that the waves following you pushes your boat, if you're not sitting correctly on the wave it can push you sideways on to the wave which can be quite a dangerous situation," Van Tuel added.

Coastguard Hawke's Bay's advice for those out on the water is to know your capabilities of yourself and your boat.