THREE sailors have been plucked from their sinking yacht on the Great Barrier Reef in a dramatic rescue involving authorities from Australia and Germany.

The men were on board their 10m sloop, the Sagitta, when they hit and became wedged on a reef near Raine Island, about 160km southeast of Cape York, on Saturday afternoon.

When the boat began taking on water and drifting with the rising tide, the men aged 56, 60 and 76, set off their emergency beacon, alerting coast guards in their home country to their plight.

The message was relayed to Canberra and then on to the Customs vessel Storm Bay, which was on patrol just 44 nautical miles away.

Storm Bay rushed to their rescue and by 8pm, the stricken sailors were safely on board.

rushed to their rescue and by 8pm, the stricken sailors were safely on board.

The Storm Bay docked in Cairns yesterday with the men on board. Their yacht remains adrift.

"With dire weather closing in on Saturday night and the possibility the situation could easily deteriorate, we were pleased to get the three men safely on board Storm Bay," the vessel’s commanding officer Paul Hemmings said.

Mr Hemmings said the rescue, which was performed in 40 knot winds and 2m waves, was made easier because the men had stayed with their yacht as long as
possible. "They stayed with the yacht and that made it easier to located in the night," he said.

The German sailors had just spent three days moored in Cairns and were on their way home to Germany, via Thursday Island.

The rescue comes four weeks after British sailor Peter Turner and a crew member were rescued by an Emergency Management Queensland helicopter after their yacht crashed into a reef near Willis Island, 420km east of Cairns.

 

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