Two lucky boaties in late-night rescue from Whangārei Harbour 'did the right thing'

The Coastguard Whangārei Circa Rescue vessel was involved in the late-night rescue. Photo / Supplied

Two "lucky" boaties have been applauded for doing the right thing after a late-night rescue from the Whangārei Harbour.

The Coastguard Operations Centre received a call from police about a capsized 3.6m dinghy in the Whangārei Harbour just after 10pm on Friday.

Two people were reported to be in the water, in full darkness late in the evening.

A volunteer team of five on Coastguard Whangārei Circa Rescue were paged out from the comfort of their homes to conduct an urgent search of the harbour.

Meanwhile the operations centre team had managed to get in direct contact with the dinghy occupants, who had been out for a late night's fishing.

The team kept them on the line and relayed assistance and encouragement.

With the line of communication open, the rescue vessel found the men, cold but in good spirits, just after 11pm.

Both men were wearing lifejackets and had their phone in a waterproof case so they could keep communicating.

Coastguard duty officer Luke McCarthy said the boaties "did the right thing by taking and wearing their lifejackets, and having waterproof communications on hand".

"They were very lucky - in the dark and without their lifejackets or cellphone, the outcome could have been very different."

The Circa Rescue crew took the men to shore and a waiting ambulance to be assessed for suspected hypothermia.

The Coastguard Operations Centre is based in Mechanics Bay in Auckland and maintains an all-day, every-day watch for boaties nationwide.