The wife of Queensland fisherman Ruben McDornan has offered her heartfelt thanks for his rescue as the families of his crewmates wait for their bodies to be found.
An air and sea recovery operation continues off the central Queensland coast, with search crews determined to find the six lost men.
Debris that could be from the Dianne has been found on beaches in the Gladstone area, north of Bustard Bay, where the sea cucumber fishing vessel capsized and sank on Monday night.
Residents as far north as Yeppoon have been urged to scour the shoreline for anything that might be related to the sinking.
"Thank you so much! We got our boy back yesterday, and he is doing ok considering everything that has happened," Mr McDornan's wife, Sammy, posted on Facebook on Friday.
But her pain for the other families was evident.
"Our love, thoughts and hope are with our slugger families still without their boys, please keep them in your thoughts," she said.
Related Reading
Six still missing after Queensland trawler sinks
Mr McDornan shared a tearful reunion with his wife on Thursday, two days after his remarkable rescue by two yachties who spotted him by chance as they moved their sailing catamaran to a more sheltered spot.
He was fighting for his life in the heavy swell after the upturned boat he had clung to sunk to the sea floor. He was exhausted and injured.
"You could see him and then you couldn't see him," one of his rescuers, Barry, told The Courier Mail.
Barry and his companion, Lyn, who did not want their surnames used, said they battled to keep sight of Mr McDornan while slowing and guiding their sailing catamaran towards him.
On the first sweep they were still dragging in their sails and could not stop, leaving the fisherman panicked.
"He didn't call at first because we went so close to him and he thought we saw him," Lyn said.
"When we sailed past he got upset then because we didn't stop. But we were under sail and you've got to pull your sail in."
With the aid of a lifebuoy and rope, he was soon safe.
"He was tired, he was exhausted, he was shaking, he was dehydrated and adrenalin kept him going," Lyn said.
"All he wanted was a hug and Barry gave him one."
Authorities will update the media on Friday about the search for the Dianne's skipper Ben Leahy, 45, and crew members Adam Hoffman, 30, Eli Tonks, 39, Adam Bidner, 33, Chris Sammut, 34, and Zach Feeney, 28.
Jodie Bidner has been sharing photos on Facebook, showing her brother Adam with some of his lost friends.
"As much as this is crushing me right now, it makes me happy at the same time to see him so happy and love what he did with his best mates," she wrote on Friday.
Share
