The family was rescued from a life raft after abandoning the catamaran and were flown to Flinders Medical Centre for medical attention. Australian Search and Rescue in Canberra received a distress signal from the stricken about 10.30am and sent the Dornier aircraft and the SA-base Rescue 51 helicopter. It was the second sea emergency rescue today. The AusSar rescue co-ordination centre in Canberra received a EPERB distress signal from the boat just before 10.30am, about four hours after a cray fishing boat reported it was sinking about 180km south of Kangaroo Island.

The two men were winched to safety from the ''Prowler'' cray boat about 8.45am after  spending about two hours in a life raft. They were uninjured and recovering in Adelaide.The helicopter rescue crew, however, were scrambled to return to the Southern Ocean in a bid to save the family onboard the catamaran.