"We didn't know how quickly they were drifting, but we knew there was a reasonable wind."
Two ferries and two commercial fishing boats responded to the distress call.
The Interislander's Kaiarahi ferry located the vessel roughly four nautical miles out to sea shortly before 10pm and one of the fishing boats towed the boat to safety, he said.
The vessel was anchored safely in Port Underwood by midnight.
"The pair on board were understandably quite distressed at the situation and very grateful for the rescue," he said.
"It was really pleasing to see the co-operation of vessels in the area result in a successful rescue."