A family of eight have opened up about the horrifying moment their boat sank in the middle of the ocean during a camping trip.
A six-month old baby was on board when the boat started taking on water about 77km east of Yeppoon in Central Queensland.
The family were forced to flee into a raft where they spent an hour and a half clinging on for life as they waited to be rescued.
'The partner’s not real keen on getting in the boat any time soon,' he told 7NEWS.
A family of eight spent an hour and a half clinging on for life after their boat sank in the middle of the ocean
The group were heading out to camp for six days when problems struck.
The father-of-three said they heard a thud and then the boat started sinking, and they still have no idea what went wrong.
As water began squirting onto the deck the group acted fast, putting on life jackets and inflating an emergency life raft.
They also activated a personal locator beacon which sent rescue crews their GPS coordinates for their rescue.
The three children were then placed onto the raft with Mr Nugent's partner while a number of the adults were forced to cling to the side or stay afloat on the sinking boat.
Despite the ordeal the baby only cried for about five minutes before settling down to sleep after being given a bottle.
Footage captured by one of the family members shows the family remained calm and collected despite the risk to their lives.
Their beer supplies also went down with the sinking vessel, much to the dismay of the adults on board.
The three children were then placed onto the raft while a number of the adults were forced to cling to the side or stay afloat on the sinking boat
Australian Maritime Safety Authority sent a crew of two helicopters and several boats to rescue the family after midday
The helicopter crew looks over the floating life raft as they prepare to rescue the family
'Here we are being rescued, 80km down, 80km out. The boat sank. There is a helicopter,' a man is overheard saying.
'Everyone is safe. And we lost all the beer.'
Australian Maritime Safety Authority sent a crew of two helicopters and several boats to rescue the family after midday.
After confirming all were in good health, they transferred the crew to a Water police vessel and returned them to shore.
Meanwhile Mr Nugent said it could have been a very different story if they hadn't been so well prepared.
'If we didn't have any of that (safety equipment), we'd still be out there floating on the water,' he said.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority sent a crew of two helicopters and several boats to rescue the family after midday
