A bunch of volunteer mariners who battled cyclonic conditions to rescue the crew of a stricken yacht off NSW in April have been rewarded for their efforts.
The local eight-strong Volunteer Marine Rescue unit have been presented with the Australian Search and Rescue award in Brisbane on Thursday night - trumping the maritime safety professionals.
And while they all risked their lives, the one woman in the brave crew - US-born Barbara Cole, 62 - says she'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Ms Cole said the conditions at Port Stephens - winds of more than 70 knots, torrential rain and three to four-metre seas inside the port - were so bad that it was the first time her husband, also a sailor, told her not to go.
"I would say it's the worst I've ever been in," she told AAP.
"We knew people were at risk of losing their lives."
Skipper Michael Smith, Ms Cole, navigator Richard Pizzuto, crewmates Rob Johnson, Barney Pinney, Laurie Nolan, Peter Merlino and Paul Sullivan used their nous and local knowledge to ensure that didn't happen.
The yacht, Reef Dragon, was breaking up as it was bashed against rocks at a small island after the two crew members attempted to shelter in a cove.
But Mr Smith managed to skilfully manoeuvre around many other sheltering vessels so the rescuers could launch an inflatable boat and retrieve the two sailors.
"They were very capable mariners, it was just extremely bad conditions," Ms Cole said.
"We brought them inside our lifeboats and gave them blankets."
The award is determined each year by the National Search and Rescue Council - a cooperative body responsible for search and rescue response arrangements in Australia.
Ms Cole said it was an honour to be recognised, but she was merely a symbol for the hundreds of personnel who serve on rescue services around Australia.
Despite the harrowing two-hour rescue mission, she's not the least bit deterred from taking to the water.
"I'd go again in a heartbeat," Ms Cole said.
"I have every confidence in our boat, in our skippers and in our crew members. We really knew what to do and it was good that we had practised so much."
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