What happened

 The Wahine reached Cook Strait as cyclone Giselle travelled south and hit a southerly front: Warm tropical air and cold air from Antarctica together produced extremely violent winds.

  

Just after 6 a.m. the Wahines radar system failed. Huge waves hit, and the Wahine was now side on to the waves and was pushed towards Barrett Reef.

At 6.40 a.m. Wahine reversed onto Barrett Reef. The right hand propeller was smashed off, and the left engine stopped just after.

The tug boat reached Wahine at about 11.00 a.m. The tug attatched a rope to Wahine, and they tried to tow the ferry to safety, but the line snapped.

Just before 1.30 p.m. the captain said to abandon ship.



The Wahine, lying on its side almost sunk.



Only the four starboard, (right) lifeboats could be launched. One lifeboat was flooded just after leaving the sinking ship.  



Some other people were forced to jump into the cold sea. Some clung on to inflatable life rafts that had been thrown overboard, but most of these were popped by the wreckage or flipped over by the waves

At about 2.30 p.m. the empty Wahine completely capsized in 11.6 metres of water and crashed into the seabed. By now, some of the survivors had already reached the shore.

Many people who reached shore alive did not receive medical attention fast enough, and died from exposure. Others were drowned or killed when thrown against rocks.