Crew members rescued from stranded yacht

Four crew members have been rescued after more than 40 hours stranded aboard a stricken superyacht off the NSW coast.

Two tugboats were sent on Wednesday to rescue the men, who became stranded after the luxury vessel broke down just after 5am on Tuesday.

The tugs reached the crew about midnight after strong winds delayed them from an earlier estimated arrival of 7pm.

The 37-metre multimillion dollar yacht, Masteka 2, sent out a distress call when it lost steering and started taking on water about 260km from Port Macquarie on the mid north coast.

A cruise ship in the area, Carnival Spirit, responded and diverted its path, rescuing two female crew members and monitoring the ship before resuming its trip to Isle of Pines in New Caledonia, where it dropped off the women.

The crew, who were given supplies including satellite phones, have been passing their time at sea checking the pumps and monitoring the boat, AMSA said.