Men winched to safety in dramatic boat rescue

Three men are lucky to be alive after their boat sank off the coast of Darwin.

CareFlight's rescue helicopter located the men 40km north of Darwin around 9.30am yesterday after the boat's emergency beacon was set off.

A raft was lowered to the water by the CareFlight crew, who then winched the men to safety one at a time. Distressed but uninjured, the trio were were airlifted CareFlight's base in Darwin for assessment.

They were given showers and dry clothes, before heading home.

The trio had been bound for Gove, in the Northern Territory's East Arnhem Land, when they left Darwin on Saturday evening in their 11-metre cabin cruiser.

When they hit strong winds and swells early yesterday morning, the crew decided to turn back but the boat quickly took on too much water and had to be abandoned.

The men put on their safety gear and tied themselves to buoys and each other, before activating their EPIRB device and leaving the vessel.

NT Police praised the crew for being properly prepared with safety fittings and life-jackets.