Two men are in quarantine in Cairns after they were winched to safety

when their Catamaran sank in the Northern Coral Sea.

It is believed the men were returning to Australia from Papua New Guinea when their catamaran ran aground on Bougainville Reef, a remote dive site approximately 200km northeast of Cairns.

Dramatic footage of the rescue showed the men setting off smoke flares as the vessel took on water.

Rescue crew officer Joshua Crouch was tasked with retrieving the men on the QGAir Rescue 510 chopper after the pair set off an emergency beacon.

He said the mission posed several challenges

"With a fair bit of planning on our part, due to the fact that it is such a long-range mission, we flew out, found the two patients and rescued them," Mr Crouch said.

"In the meantime, their large catamaran yacht had sunk."

The men were transported back to Cairns where they will remain in quarantine for 14 days as part of coronavirus protocols.

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