Those were the words an older Bulli community member said to Sebastian James after one of the biggest boating rescues the region has seen on Sunday.

That was when Mr James shed some tears.

It was a chance for him to reflect on the enormity of single-handedly pulling four unconscious men out from under a capsized boat.

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"I immediately saw the four bodies floating lifeless under the boat," Mr James told the Mercury.

"For me, there wasn't a sense of fear, I felt super capable. I dive, swim and surf here all the time. I know this water super well.

"With 30 years of surf lifesaving experience, it was quite automatic.

"Once I had the fins and mask on, I knew what to do.

"One after the other I pulled them out."

Dozens of emergency service personnel, many from surf life saving clubs, all played an essential role when they rescued seven men from the overturned vessel at Waniora Point.

Whether that was pulling the men into an inflatable rescue boat, performing CPR, ferrying equipment, co-ordinating first responders or supporting the survivors - each person helped saved lives that day.

One 37-year-old man from Bankstown tragically could not be resuscitated and three others were taken to hospitals in critical conditions and are recovering.

Mr James - who was out for a surf but was not volunteering for Bulli Surf Life Saving Club at the time - duck-dived under a wave and when he came up saw the boat had overturned and three men were clinging to the side of the vessel.

From the shore, Bulli Surf Life Saving member Dane Henderson and president Jamie Caldwell were running an IRB proficiency exercise to refresh their training when they noticed the boat around Peggy's Reef.

Mr Henderson said the members were practising their skills ahead of what they anticipate will be a busy summer given the resumption of regional travel and the boating incidents in the past 18 months.

The whole Bulli team responded as one after the patrol captain, who witnessed the boat overturn, radioed through the communications system, with younger off-duty surf lifesaver members watching on and making phone calls back to the club.

Mr Henderson and Mr Caldwell took less than 30 seconds to run to the beach, jump in the IRB, with it taking about two minutes to make it around the reef.

"As we came around the corner, it was one of those, 'oh shit' moments because surfers were everywhere, the boat was overturned, one of the men was standing on the bow of the boat," Mr Henderson said.

"There was a lot of yelling. We couldn't ascertain how many people were trapped under the hull, we didn't know how many were on board."

Surfer Steven Davey attempted to go under the boat but couldn't due to the leaking petrol.

Mr Henderson and Mr Caldwell towed the vessel to a safer area, and a jet ski arrived while Mr James pulled the men out from under the hull, with his actions likely giving the men the best chance of survival.

At first Mr Henderson thought there were only four men who needed to be rescued but after Mr James went under the boat he yelled there were others.

"Getting the ones in the air pocket was a long, deep swim and it was more difficult to get them down and under the boat," Mr James said.

"Fortunately there were people to ferry them back to shore."

Mr James put one of the men onto the back of the jet ski, while Mr Henderson and Mr Caldwell helped haul the other three men into the IRB.

"We had three guys who were basically lifeless, they looked dead, gone," Mr Henderson said.

"There was no way we could do effective treatment on them on the way in shore. We just had them stacked on top of each other in the boat."

Another lifesaver got into the IRB to help and they made their way as quickly as possible to land.

"It seemed to take forever to get to the beach because of the weight in the boat," Mr Henderson said.

"It seemed like an eternity to get in and I was just looking at these poor guys in the bottom of the boat, thinking that was it for them.

"This incident is pretty rare - to get four people who need resuscitation. There were a couple of times where I had out-of-body experiences thinking, 'what is going on' before snapping back into gear to get stuff done."

It was at this point he was able to take a breath and figure out the next moves. He was able to remain calm and communicate what treatment would be needed for the men.

"I made numerous calls over the radio for ambos, police and firies as I knew they carried defibrillators. I knew we would be strapped for resources," Mr Henderson said.

"I kept reiterating we had four unconscious patients and we needed every available resource."

That was when members from Thirroul, Sandon Point, Woonona and Bellambi clubs got their gear and went to the beach.

Meanwhile, Mr Caldwell used the journey back to shore to work out the logistics of removing the men from the boat, carrying them onto the sand and getting enough people to do CPR, which was not difficult due to how many club members with resuscitation skills were watching at the beach.

An off-duty police officer, paramedic and a doctor all came to assist while Mr Caldwell set up four stations.

Mr Caldwell started to organise people to do CPR on each patient, with people rotating. In a matter of minutes, equipment arrived along with emergency service personnel and eventually helicopters.

He communicated with agency commanders and ensured people gave the ones doing CPR the space to work.

"I got in my rhythm with CPR and people just seemed to come from everywhere," Mr Henderson said.

"The timing of where and when it happened was nothing short of a miracle to have all those people in that one spot at one time."

With the help of an off-duty paramedic and after four or five cycles of CPR, the man Mr Henderson was working on took a breath.

"I honestly thought he was gone and to do successful CPR without having to shock him was amazing," he said.

Mr Henderson said it was an absolute relief when the man breathed, and then his pulse got stronger, before 5 to 10 minutes later his eyes opened and he was treated by paramedics.

"It is an absolute tragedy to lose three or four people, to get one person back I would have been ecstatic, but to be able to give three people the best opportunity to live the rest of their days was nothing short of a miracle," he said.

Mr James also had a moment to realise the amazing response when he was paddling back in from the break.

"At that point I was hit by the emotion of it all," he said. "But by the time I hit the beach, I saw so many familiar faces from the surf club and community all helping out and I was motivated again.

"I thought 'we have done a good job here'."

Mr James said everyone played to their strength; he in the water, others doing resuscitation and senior leaders co-ordinating the response.

"I have seen words like brave and hero around me but I really do downplay it," he said. "For me, I was just capable because I had people around me who knew me, trusted me and gave me the right equipment.

"I had the skills and training, and the right attitude to get in and help out when needed."

Back on shore, Mr Henderson said the other members of the boat where in shock, asking if their friends would be OK. He said they were bleary-eyed and seemed like their heads were spinning before they were attended to by paramedics and lifesavers.

Mr Henderson said he was coping well with the traumatic, chaotic and difficult rescue and was looking forward to talking to other club members as feelings would still be raw even days later.

"There will be people who are doubting what they did or going through the process of thinking, 'could I have done better' but at the end of the day, no-one put those guys in that situation," he said.

"But as a club and community, we did everything in our power to ensure they survived the situation they put themselves in."

Mr Henderson said everyone should be proud of their efforts and showed an amazing supportive, community spirit.

Mr Caldwell said it was key for him to have gathered all people involved, including those in the community, to debrief after the incident.

It was a chance for everyone to process their feelings, be offered welfare services, piece together the timeline and discuss what they did well or could have done better, especially for those who did their first resuscitation.

Mr Caldwell and the surf life saving organisation will continue to support to all people involved.

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