Police praise VMR Whitsunday for high sea rescue

The president of the Whitsunday VMR is full of praise for four of his men who battled horrendous weather on the high seas to rescue a stricken vessel on Monday.

Robin Salmon says the skipper Tony Bell, and his crew Mick Evans, Don Martindale and Tony McNeill worked wonders in rescuing the 36-foot yacht drifting in waters off St Bees Island.

"They’d been out since about 4am on Monday and didn’t get in until nearly night fall. It was a hell of a job – how the hell that boat missed the rocks near the island is beyond me," Mr Salmon said.

Skipper Tony Bell said they spent the first few hours of the rescue anchored in a little bay near Shaw Island waiting for further instruction.

"The belief was that the vessel was in distress and drifting northward. But we got further information and proceeded another two hours south.

Mr Bell says the conditions on board the rescue catamaran were horrendous with three metre swells breaking on the boat.

"Losing visibility for ten seconds at a time in those conditions is pretty scary. It’s not every rescue where we put on a life jacket but I insisted all crew members put on their jackets and hold on," Mr Bell said.

Queensland water police say the yacht was rescued at 1.30pm on Monday.

"The vessel lost battery power and had its sails ripped on Sunday night before the crew was forced to let go the anchor and let the vessel drift," a police spokesperson said.

"Police monitored the position of the vessel after the two men, aged 59 and 33, on-board contacted them at 12.30am, however, rough weather delayed attempts to reach it this morning.

"The Whitsunday VMR towed the yacht with its two safe and well crew members to Lindeman Island following the ordeal.

Police are praising the brave efforts of the Whitsunday Volunteer Marine Rescue crew and the assistance of the CQ Rescue Helicopter.

Early on Monday morning, the RACQ CQ joined the search.

A spokesperson for the rescue helicopter said an emergency radio team was deployed to the stricken sailors to provide vital communication between the boat and the VMR.

Skipper Tony Bell said the helicopter was vitally instrumental in the rescue as it guided their boat to the stricken vessel.

"The two blokes Dennis Muller and Michael Chappel from Yeppoon were extremely grateful to see us.

"One of the worst things is when you’re stricken at sea, and you feel alone, your sense of desperation is much greater. So when they knew help had arrived they were able to act more calmly," he said.