A rescue chopper arrived in the very nick of time for two men and a boy holding onto a rapidly sinking boat off the coast of Coledale.
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The vessel reportedly got into trouble about 37 kilometres out to sea during a shark-fishing competition on the afternoon of Saturday, April 27.
The Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter responded to a triple-zero call to police, with dramatic footage filmed by aircrew showing the moment they reached the stricken boaties.
The video, published by the Nine Network, shows all but the bow under water, with the trio desperately clinging to the little of the boat still afloat.
A teenage boy was the first to be winched to safety.
"Keep your hands by your side, don't reach up," the rescuer can be heard telling the teen, before he's lifted to the helicopter.
The winchline then returns for the boy's father, who enters the cabin shortly after to find his son grinning from ear to ear.
As the pair were being rescued, a third man swam to the safety of a nearby boat, which took him to shore.
Authorities praised the men for their response to the crisis.
"They did everything right," Westpac Lifesaver Rescue officer Tony Waller told the Nine Network.
"They stayed with the partially submerged boat and they had their lifejackets on."
