A central Queensland fisherman who rescued a couple after they spent three days in the ocean says they are lucky to be alive.
Lorne Benussi, from Yeppoon, was on a recreational fishing trip with his father when they anchored on Monday night at a sandbar at Yellow Patch, on Curtis Island near Gladstone.
Mr Benussi said he had gone to sleep when he heard calls for help.
"We turned all the lights on and saw a young couple floating past in the tide … they were only treading water; they had no board or anything," he said.
"They were barely keeping their head above the water — they were that buggered they couldn't tread water anymore."
In 20-knot winds and pouring rain, Mr Benussi pulled the man and woman to safety.
"We just got [them] in the dinghy and dragged them over the side … they just collapsed in the dinghy."
He said once the couple was on the boat, they rested on and off through the night, had hot showers, some food and got into clean clothes.
"They were just drinking gallons of water," he said.
"They were so thirsty, they could not stop drinking water all night."
The former commercial fisherman said the man and woman eventually conveyed to him that they had been at North West Island, about 55 kilometres east of Yellow Patch.
From what Mr Benussi understood, they had been dropped off at the island with their camping gear on the Saturday, went for a paddle board and got taken away with the tide.
"Then they were just drifting around the ocean for a few days," he said.
"No-one even knew they were gone or missing, because they weren't due to be picked up until the following Tuesday."
North West Island, on the Capricorn Cays, has limited camping facilities and phone reception.
The state government recommends any visitors take a marine radio or satellite phone with them.
The rescue
Due to heavy rain, strong winds and a lack of phone reception, Mr Benussi waited until the morning to get the couple back to shore.
"When we picked them off, it was blowing probably 20 to 25 knots, pouring rain, and then the bar is very shallow coming out of Yellow Patch," he said.
"We didn't want to risk trying to cross the bar in the middle of the night and running aground ourselves.
"So we thought we'll let them sleep for the night and we'll bring them back first thing in the morning."
On the journey back Mr Benussi texted his nephew in Blackwater, who contacted emergency services.
The group was met at the Keppel Bay Marina in Yeppoon at about 11am on Tuesday.
The Queensland Ambulance Service said the couple was taken to the Capricorn Coast Hospital for observation.
They remain there in a stable condition.
'Lucky for them'
Mr Benussi said it was fortunate he had left his dinghy, usually stored atop the boat, in the water overnight.
"If we didn't have the dinghy in the water, we would've lost them," he said.
He said they had likely called out to other boats anchored in the area as they drifted past, but most of his fellow fishermen would have already gone to sleep.
"Behind us, there were sandbars, so another couple hundred metres [and] they would have ended up on a sandbar anyway," he said.
"But [in] the middle of the night they just didn't know where they were."
He said the pair had lost their paddle boards at some point and thankfully the current had taken the pair towards Cape Capricorn instead of to the north-west, further out to sea.
"[But] a bit of north-easterly wind and the stronger currents going into the Fitzroy at the time, it's just pulled them back towards Cape Capricorn, which is very lucky for them."
