SYDNEY -- Two people were rescued unharmed Tuesday after spending a night aboard a disabled yacht in heavy seas off the Australian coast.

The 60-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman were rescued at 7:30 a.m. from their 19-meter (62-foot) yacht, which was abandoned 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of the New South Wales state coast, Police Chief Inspector Anthony Brazzill said. The pair were expected to reach Sydney aboard a police boat Tuesday night.

The pair had activated their emergency beacon around 1 p.m. Monday, about 185 kilometers (115 miles) east of the New South Wales coastal town of Nowra, police said.

The yacht, “Spirit of Mateship,” had experienced a mechanical failure, lost a rudder, was taking water and was drifting east away from the shore, Brazzill said. With an ocean swell of 5 to 6 meters (16 to 20 feet) and winds of up 110 kilometers (70 miles) per hour, he said, conditions were considered too dangerous to attempt a rescue in the dark.

An air force C-130 Hercules transport plane flew to the yacht and made radio contact with the two people onboard. A police boat and an Australian navy warship reached the yacht early Tuesday.

Brazzill said a winching rescue by military helicopter was considered, but ruled out as too dangerous because of the sea conditions.

The pair were rescued in a small craft launched from the police boat, he said.