Investigations are underway into an intense confrontation at Tairua between a man on an inflatable dinghy and a woman on a larger boat.
The dispute, which was caught on footage and is now circulating on social media, begins with a screaming match between the two individuals at the Tairua boat ramp on the Coromandel Peninsula.
The man standing in a white inflatable yells at the woman on the larger boat, saying that she was a "piece of shit" and had "caused $1000 worth of damage" by allegedly speeding past his boat.
Both parties call each other explicit names before the man starts the motor and appears to begin motoring off. However, he quickly turns, causing a wake. The man motors away and then again begins driving back towards the larger boat before ramming into it.
"There are children," the woman tells the man, who responds: "I don't care".
The same woman then jumps into the shallow water with an oar, trying to take a whack at the man and his dinghy. As the man tries to defend himself he drives the dinghy into a pier.
Children can be heard crying in the background and a number of people surround the incident to watch.
After the pair part, the man returns to his dinghy, which appears to have been damaged.
Police confirmed to Newshub that they had received a report on the evening of January 23 "of a dispute and reported assault at the Tairua boat ramp earlier that afternoon". A spokesperson said inquiries were underway.
Maritime NZ also said that it had been aware of the footage since Wednesday and had shared it with the Waikato Regional Council harbourmaster to investigate further.
