Millionaire British yachtsman plucked from shark-infested Australian waters

Captain Peter Turner, who received the OBE in 2000 for services to British exports, and his friend Jonathan Stuttard, both British, were winched from their life raft into a helicopter after eight hours in shark-infested waters more than 200 miles off Australia's north east coast.

Bad reef: A helicopter plucks the two British men to safety from the shark-infested waters

Last night Mr Turner, from Nottingham, claimed the reef was not on their charts. He said: 'I've had 50 years experience and it wasn't a case of making a mistake in reading the charts.'

The pair had been competing in a round the world yacht race, which started in the Caribbean in January and is due to finish back there in March next year, when they smashed into the reef in early morning darkness.

They were forced to abandon the luxury 50ft cruising yacht after it turned on to its side and started taking in water.

They put out a distress call and transferred to the life raft to await help. Mr Turner said it was his first rescue after sailing for thousands of miles around the world. He said the yacht is now unsalvageable.

The former Commodore of the West Stockwith Yacht Club, South Yorks, and his companion were taking part in a round the world yacht race, which started in the Caribbean in January and is due to finish back in the West Indies in March next year.

But as they sailed from the Pacific nation of Vanuatu to Cairns, in northern Queensland, they smashed into a reef in the early morning darkness near remote Willis Island.

Within seconds the vessel keeled over and as the surf pounded against the side the two men realised they would have to send out an immediate distress call and abandon ship.

'Nowhere is nice to smash into a reef, but if I had to choose somewhere I would say that this was as good a place as any,' said Mr Turner.

'Our charts did not show any reef in that area at all so we had quite a shaking when we hit it.

'There was an amazing crash and immediately she turned over onto her side. It started leaking water and we had a rough time for three hours as we put an emergency procedure into action.

'We realised that we couldn't stop the leaking and that we'd have to take to the life raft. But first we put out an emergeny call and then started gathering the essential things we could carry... our passports, money and other small valuables.

'I could see some lovely fish and some nice reef below me when the morning light came and the reef was so close to the surface that I could have quite literally walked off the boat.'

Mr Turner said the yacht was now unsalvageable.

'You could say the whole thing has been quite eventful - not quite what I planned for a Sunday morning,' he said of what had been his first rescue after sailing for thousands of miles around the world's oceans.

Within half an hour of putting out a distress call, he saw a search and rescue spotter plane passing overhead.

Even though a reconnaissance aircraft located the yacht quickly, the rescue operation was not easy.

The Cairns-based helicopter crew had to refuel at tiny Willis Island, a remote weather station, before continuing on to rescue the two men some eight hours after they struck the reef.

The east coast of Australia has been the location of numerous rescue dramas and mystery disappearances.

In recent times two American divers vanished, feared consumed by sharks, after their dive boat returned to shore without them.

Last month an American man was charged with murdering his wife during a dive, leaving her body on the sea bed.