Three divers have been found safe and well after going missing off Kapiti Island this afternoon.
The group was reported missing when they failed to return at midday.
The divers were last seen at Tarere Mango Point, at the southwest point of Kapiti Island.
A rescue helicopter, three Coastguard boats and police were involved in this afternoon's search for the divers.
Inspector Chris Tate from central police communications said they were found "in good condition'' about 2pm nearly 5km from Tarere Mango Point.
They had been brought into shore, he said.
The rescue was the second for the day in the lower North Island.
Two people were rescued after their boat sank off the South Wairarapa coast this morning.
Mr Tate said the captain of the stricken small launch was able to put a mayday call to the Rescue Coordination Centre just before 11am.
Westpac Rescue Helicopter was sent to the scene and winched the pair, who were in the water, to safety.
One of the two was wearing a wetsuit. It was not known if lifejackets were worn.
"They were ok, they had just swallowed a lot of salt water.''
Meanwhile, four separate maritime incidents near Dunedin kept emergency services busy yesterday.
Three of the four rescues were due to mechanical problems prompting authorities to remind boaties to check equipment before heading out.
They said boaties needed three forms of communication.
"We had text messages from one person, which is not ideal,'' Search and rescue co-ordinator Senior Sergeant Brian Benn said.
Mr Benn said search and rescue usually had one or two call outs a week so four in one day was a record.
"It was a beautiful day so there were a lot of people on the water. People need to go out prepared for anything.''
More than 20 surf lifesavers from the two main surf clubs assisted search and rescue throughout the day.
There were no injuries but during the rescue of the commercial fishing boat, Lady Ann, the skipper's pet black labrador jumped overboard during the tow and was last seen swimming towards shore.
- additional reporting Kirsty Wynn of the Herald on Sunday
