Studio 10 co-host Ita Buttrose and Wake Up Reporter Sam Mac left stranded in water taxi on Sydney Harbour

ITA Buttrose was left feeling a little green after becoming stranded in a water taxi in the middle of a choppy Sydney harbour today during a breakfast TV stunt gone wrong.

SYDNEYSIDERS had a particularly rough commute to work this morning, but none more so than Ita Buttrose.

The Studio 10 presenter found herself stranded in the middle of Sydney Harbour when her water taxi broke down en route from Manly to Pyrmont.

Buttrose was travelling with Wake Up reporter Sam Mac from one breakfast show studio to the other when water flooded the fuel tank, leaving the pair bobbing helplessly amid massive swells.

"We were literally airborne, I was holding onto Ita," Sam told news.com.au.

"She handled it so well. She was so relaxed, and was actually calming me down!"

"We're not going to get to Pyrmont, we may just take the rest of the day off," Buttrose declared calmly.

Sam, who was meant to be the 71-year-old's chapperone for the morning, tried to make light of the situation: "You do realise that you have the Australian of the Year on board," he reminded the crew, jokingly.

After 42 minutes stranded at sea - by Sam's watch - they eventually had to mayday for help and another boat towed them to safety.

It was a stroke of sheer bad luck for the pair being left high and not-so-dry in the tiny boat - apparently the last time a water taxi from that company broke down was almost 10 years ago.