A multi-agency search for a missing catamaran and its two crew has ended safely overnight after the vessel was located drifting well south of its intended route.

The Mangrove Jack, an 8.4-metre white catamaran, left Yamba Harbour about 8am on Saturday and was due in Southport, Queensland by 5pm. 

When it failed to arrive, emergency services were alerted at 8.20pm and a full-scale search was launched, focusing on the area between Evans Head and Tweed Heads.

The operation involved NSW Police Marine Area Command, Tweed-Byron Police District, Police Rescue, PolAir, Marine Rescue NSW, Queensland Police Service, Marine Rescue QLD, Surf Life Saving NSW, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. 

Located South of Search Zone

About 9pm last night Marine Rescue at Port Macquarie received a call from the two men on board, aged 50 and 68, reporting their position around 22 nautical miles east of Sandon Beach.

Sandon Beach, located east of Grafton, lies to the south of their starting point at Yamba and outside the official search zone, which had focused on the expected route between Yamba and Southport.

A Challenger search aircraft was diverted and quickly confirmed the vessel’s location. 

Volunteers from Marine Rescue NSW began towing the catamaran back to Yamba, with landfall expected around 7am.

Safe but Exhausted

Police confirmed both men were uninjured but suffering from extreme exhaustion after more than 36 hours at sea.

Authorities praised the coordinated effort of emergency services and the dedication of local Marine Rescue volunteers, whose crews had spent two days scouring waters off Ballina and the wider Northern Rivers coast.