Two men are counting their blessings after a dramatic sea rescue when they were plucked from rough seas several miles north of Bermuda after their fishing boat sank.

The 34-foot Sea Scorpion went under quickly after it was struck by a rogue wave and filled with water, according to its owner, captain Stephen Cabral, whose son was on board.

He declined to name his son, saying that was in still shock after being brought safely ashore with the other man on the boat.

“The wave hit and the next thing they knew they were in the water,” Mr Cabral said.

“It was one of those unfortunate waves that catch you off guard. It could happen to anybody.”

He said he tried frantically to reach his son once word came of the distress call but that the men would already have been in the sea.

“Harbour Radio called me and I told them where he usually goes to his traps. They had a good description.”

Mr Cabral said his other son was also out in his boat and joined the rescue effort.

The men were rescued less than an hour after issuing a distress call.

The two tried to swim to North Rock but were “very, very lucky” the watertight flare box came to the surface after the vessel went down.

“Luckily the flares were still dry when they saw the boat come towards them.”

Mr Cabral said the heavy seas would have made it difficult to spot two people adrift.

The Sea Scorpion had gone out near North Rock to lay traps for guinea chicks. Mr Cabral said the sunken vessel was still visible on the bottom, meaning some sort of salvage might be possible.

“It’s a bad time for this to happen. That boat is a moneymaker and it had some expensive equipment on board.”

He said he and his wife were just thankful both the men were unharmed. “You’ve just got to get on with it. There’s nothing else you can do,” he added.

Bermuda Maritime Operations said the crew of the vessel did not require medical treatment after their rescue.

The satellite call for help came just before noon from a position 1.8 miles northeast of the North Rock Beacon.

However, an urgent marine broadcast had to be issued when harbour radio was unsuccessful in contacting the vessel by marine VHF radio.

They said two fishing boats picked up the call for help and headed for the boat’s position. The Royal Bermuda Regiment Coastguard vessel Rescue 1 set out from Boaz Island in Sandys.

The outbound rescue boat spotted a handheld flare at 12.50pm from the North Rock small boat channel.

Smoke from the flare was also seen from the Bermuda Maritime Operations headquarters at Fort George in St George’s — but the heavy seas made it difficult to trace the position of the flare’s launch.

According to the Bermuda Weather Service, seas outside the reef were at eight feet to 12 feet high, with a small craft warning in effect until tomorrow.

Shortly before 1pm, Rescue 1 found two crew from the Sea Scorpion in the water and confirmed their vessel “sank rapidly”.

The crew were brought safely to shore at Mills Creek in Pembroke.

Bermuda Maritime Operation cancelled its urgency radio broadcast and thanked all responding vessels for their help.