Figtree coal miner Steve Fieldsend was fishing off the rocks below the cemetery when he saw a large wave headed for the fisherman, aged in his 70s and believed to be from southwest Sydney.

The man was washed into the water and was struggling to stay afloat as wave after wave crashed onto the rock shelf.

Luckily for the fisherman, who did not have a lifejacket, Mr Fieldsend, 54, did. He threw it in to the older man, while another nearby resident who had seen the incident unfold jumped into the water.

Read more: Snake seized from Albion Park Rail in animal trafficking bust

Mr Fieldsend called Triple 0 while the resident helped the fisherman stay afloat as they waited for help to arrive.

"He went out onto a little high rock, I saw a wave come and thought 'this bloke's going to in here'," Mr Fieldsend said.

"I remembered I had m y life preserver. I pulled the string and I threw it at him. He grabbed hold of it, then I got my phone and called Triple 0.

"I don't see how he would have lasted until the chopper came. I wouldn't have. There was a fair bit of a bump [swell] on. It probably took half an hour maybe.

"A local bloke from up the hill jumped in and stayed with him.

"At some stages there ... the old fellow was just hanging there, with his face up. I was just yelling 'hang in there mate'."

Mr Fieldsend got changed and was headed off to warm up.

"I think a cup of tea will be nice," he said.

He said the lifejacket had made all the difference in that vital few minutes - and encouraged the keen fisherman to change his own ways.

"I don't usually wear it, or even bring it, but I think I'm going to start," he said.

A team from Coledale Surf Life Saving club arrived to help the fisherman out of the water. The Toll rescue helicopter winched him up before landing on the headland at the Scarborough Wombarra cemetery.

The man was treated before being flown to St George Hospital.

Last night his condition was described as serious.

Surf Life Saving Illawarra duty officer Anthony Turner praised the resident who jumped in and helped the fisherman.

"The man risked his own life," he said.

"He kept him afloat until rescuers arrived. He bravely jumped into the water and kept him alive.

"The Coledale Surf Life Saving call-out team rescued the swimmer who saved the man and brought him safely to shore."

- with Ashleigh Tullis

We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.