Vessel sinking at Pilot Bay, Mount Maunganui

A boat has sunk in gale-force winds at Pilot Bay in Mount Maunganui.

And it will be at least another few days before an attempt to refloat the boat can be made.

A Bay of Plenty photographer at the scene captured footage of the vessel sinking under the waves with only a part of the craft visible.

Gale-force wind gusts pummelled the area earlier this afternoon.

Pilot Bay resident Maree Southward said she reported the sinking boat to the harbourmaster just before 2pm.

The sinking vessel in Pilot Bay. Photo / George Novak

"I was watching the stormy weather ... I looked out from my deck and saw the boat sinking."

She said about half of it was underwater at that point.

She said the boat was at the Salisbury wharf end of Pilot Bay and estimated it was about 20m offshore. It was "really windy and choppy with big waves" on the water.

Onlookers watch the sinking vessel in Pilot Bay this afternoon. Photo / George Novak

Items from the boat were washing up on shore, including fish containers and life jackets, she said. The boat had a small cabin and was regularly moored in the Bay.

She believed no one was on the boat.

The sinking vessel in Pilot Bay. Photo / George Novak

A Bay of Plenty Regional Council spokesman said the harbourmaster team was aware of the incident and were working with the owner who was on their way.

Harbourmaster Jon Jon Peters said the 7.9m boat had sunk on its mooring.

There was no evidence of oil in the water and an investigation into what caused the sinking would be carried out.

Debris from the boat has been collected from the shoreline.

Due to high winds, there was no possibility of refloating the boat over the next couple of days, Peters said.

Metservice meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said winds peaked between 1pm and 2pm with gusts measuring 81km/h or 44 knots, according to monitoring at Tauranga Airport.

Debris from the sunken vessel has been found on the shoreline at Pilot Bay. Photo / George Novak

For winds to be gale-force, they need to measure between 33 and 46 knots.

"They are strong westerly winds which are pretty strong. They were quite a bit above the average wind which was 55km/h."

Makgabutlane said there have been strong winds throughout New Zealand today as a cold front moves across the North Island.

The winds are expected to ease in Tauranga from late afternoon into early evening.

The maximum wave height was 1.2m, according to Port of Tauranga live monitoring of the Tauranga Harbour at 2.45pm.