Two men were fishing 3 nautical miles south of Mana Island in a 5.5m aluminium runabout and making the most of the glassy calm conditions. At around midnight when they went to head home their engine flooded and wouldn't start, eventually draining the battery.
Because their boat was well equipped they were able to easily contact Maritime Radio via VHF and provide them with an exact location from their GPS. This position was relayed to Coastguard Mana who was able to locate them relatively easily in the darkness. They were also able to use their navigation lights to guide CRV Trust Porirua Rescue [2] to their exact location.
Once on scene TPR was able to tow them away from shore before attempting to restart their engine with a jump pack. This was successful and they were then able to return to TItahi Bay under their own power.
Links:
[1] http://www.coastguardmana.org.nz/users/mark-presling
[2] http://www.coastguardmana.org.nz/crv/crv-trust-porirua-rescue
[3] http://www.coastguardmana.org.nz/users/peter-tse
[4] http://www.coastguardmana.org.nz/users/trevor-farmer