The owner and passengers of a launch which broke down near Motiti Island are safely back to shore.

Tauranga Coastguard's TECT Rescue reunites a kayak with its owner on shore, after they parted company on the harbour in rough conditions on Saturday.

A 12-metre launch – named ‘Game Buoy' –is safely at berth at Sulphur Point after it broke down on the Eastern side of Motiti Island on Saturday night.

Tauranga Volunteer Coastguard operations manager Simon Barker believes the owner and three others on-board were out fishing when the launch's propeller stopped working.

'The boat lost drive for some reason. The propeller wasn't working,” says Simon.

'It run its engine but couldn't get any drive so Maketu [Eastpak Rescue] went out and brought them halfway back to Tauranga then our boat brought them the rest of the way back.”

Simon says Maketu's Eastpak Rescue picked up Game Buoy about 7pm on Saturday before the coastguard vessel TECT Rescue took over at 7.45pm. The coastguard vessel towed Game Buoy back to Sulphur Point Marina at 11.15pm.

He says there were no damages to the launch – 'it was just a simple break down”.

The coastguard vessel also attended an incident involving three kayakers reported to have gotten into difficulty off Plummers Point, near Omokoroa, in the upper Tauranga Harbour.

A caller to SunLive on Saturday said the kayakers made their way ashore but one of the kayaks was swept away, but Simon was unaware of the incident.

Last reports suggested the kayakers were at the foot of the cliffs at the end of Plummers Point.

About 6pm on Friday night the coastguard vessel assisted an 11-tonne yacht which struck difficulty coming into harbour.

'It couldn't motor so our boat just went out and met them at Salisbury Wharf and towed them into the Bridge Marina,” says Simon.

On Thursday night a yacht was towed from Hunters Creek after it got caught on the sand bank about high tide.

Simon says the coastguard vessel attends to about 150 rescues each year from basic breakdowns, and flat batteries to more extreme cases including deaths.

With today marking the official first day of summer, Simon is offering the same advice he does all-year-round.

'Make sure you let someone know where you are going, make sure you've got a VHF radio on-board and check the weather forecast,” says Simon. 'And don't forget the lifejackets.”