Stranded boaties rescued thanks to floating esky and waterproof phone

Four men rescued after their boat sank off Victoria's Mornington Peninsula have an esky and waterproof phone to thank for keeping them alive.

The group were a kilometre out from Mount Eliza Shore when their boat started taking on water just before 9pm on December 30.

While they managed to activate their emergency position indicating radio beacon (better known as an EPIRB) before the vessel went under, they only managed to grab one lifejacket between the four of them, they informed police.

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Luckily, one of the men had a waterproof phone and was able to call triple-zero while clinging to the single lifejacket and an esky that stayed afloat.

Police sent the Mornington Volunteer Marine Rescue out to their location, where they said the group were glad to see them.

"The EPIRB gave us an exact location," volunteer Rick Cooper told Today.

"And there we found them - very cold and glad to see us so we got them out of the water and into some blankets."

Cooper told Today one of the men had his phone torch on and that also helped with the rescue.

And while it was a good outcome and the men did the right thing, he had some advice for anyone else heading out on the water this holiday season.

"Check your gear, make sure you've got all your safety equipment, check the weather and let someone know where you're going and when you're going to return," he said.

See what else Rick Cooper had to say in the video above.

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