Three people were rescued after a public holiday fishing trip took an unexpected turn for the worse on Monday - one of several marine distress calls received as wild winds lashed the Illawarra coast.
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The boat, with two men and a boy on board, had to be towed to Shellharbour after its motor cut out off Bass Point about 9.50am.
One of the men told the Mercury rapidly deteriorating weather whipped up rough seas, which started to fill the boat with water.
"The wind blew up, we had a couple of waves come over the boat ... and the motor stopped," the man said.
Ambulance NSW Illawarra district officer Inspector Terry Morrow said emergency services initially held serious concerns for the trio's welfare.
The Westpac rescue helicopter was called after reports that people were in the water, but it was later stood down.
"All three people remained in the boat with their life jackets on and held onto the boat until the water police arrived," Inspector Morrow said.
"The driver of the boat indicated to me that there were a couple of smaller boats that went past that were unable to stop and give them a tow in."
Insp Morrow said they "did the right thing" by alerting authorities.
"The wind was not up [when they went out], the seas were calm and during their fishing trip, they realised the wind was starting to come up so they tried to get into shore," he said.
"They were swamped with a large wave straight over the bow ... they put out a distress call on the CB [radio] and the water police arrived on scene and towed them back in."
Insp Morrow said the two men, aged in their 30s, and the boy, aged about 10, were assessed by paramedics and didn't require hospitalisation.
"They were just suffering from a little bit of cold from the wind and the water," he said.
The boy was seen sitting in the passenger seat, wrapped in a foil blanket, as the Quintrex 455 Escape CV was pulled from the water at Shellharbour boat ramp.
NSW Marine Rescue was kept busy for most of the morning, assisting another two vessels that were drifting out to sea in the strong winds.
A kayaker off Wollongong was swept out and had to call for help about 11am.
Marine Rescue regional co-ordinator Bruce Mitchell said the Westpac helicopter was dispatched and found the kayak about 13 kilometres offshore. Marine Rescue towed it back to Port Kembla.
Marine Rescue was also sent to assist a small boat with motor problems off Thirroul.
It managed to regain power, and made its way to Bellambi under supervision.