Cruise rescues fishermen

The recreational fishing boat hit rocks near The Noises, which lies northeast of Rakino Island, at 9pm on Friday night. Photo / Geoff Cumming

One of the world's most famous cruise liners offered to rescue five fishermen after their boat was grounded by rocks in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf.

The recreational fishing boat hit rocks near The Noises, which lies northeast of Rakino Island, at 9pm on Friday night.

The luxury cruise liner Queen Elizabeth Two was leaving port when the distress signal was sent out at 9.07pm and offered to help but the call was answered by Coastguard volunteers in the area.

The volunteers, who were on-board Lion Foundation Rescue and North Shore Rescue, were on scene within twenty minutes after the signal was put out.

Coastguard operations manager Ray Burge said the skipper had acted well in the situation.

"It was a fantastic response by the volunteers who quickly got the situation under control," he said.

"The skipper had lifejackets for everyone and was able to make the distress call to get help. This makes a huge difference to our ability to respond and get the positive outcome after what was no doubt a frightening experience for those on board the runabout."

No one was injured during the incident, but the child was distressed.

The boat was towed to Half Moon Bay about 1am this morning.