A Hawke's Bay policeman is downplaying his part in a rescue after a drunk woman who fell into the sea at a Napier wharf.

The woman toppled over into the water at West Quay around 11pm on Saturday.

When Constable Duane Coffin arrived, she was clinging to a rope attached to a boat with one hand and her eyes were closed.

Constable Coffin says he took off his stab-proof vest and jumped straight in to hold her up.

He says a rope was used to haul her out of the water, and he was treated by ambulance staff for mild hypothermia.

Duane Coffin says it was nothing special.

He continued working his shift, after going home for a dry uniform and a feed of McDonalds.