Clayton Robinson: Perth dad describes terrifying moment boat sinks off Rottnest Island

A father-of-two has described the moment of panic he felt when he realised his boat was going down in waters off Rottnest Island.

Clayton Robinson, 41, was plucked from the upturned hull of his capsized boat about 11pm on Friday night after a massive, five-hour search in tough conditions.

He was on his way back from a quick fishing trip when he saw he was taking on water.

“Maybe a minute later, (I) realised how much more water had come in . . . it was going down,” he said.

“Then a bit of panic set in.”

Mr Robinson quickly sent his coordinates to a friend, grabbed his EPIRB and emergency flares and put on his life jacket, just as his boat capsized.

Back on land, his partner Dani Gogan posted a desperate call for help on social media, asking for assistance in finding Mr Robinson, who activated his emergency beacon off The Basin, and a flare sometime between 5.20pm and 6pm.

“I tried not to panic too much because I needed to save my energy, because (I thought) I’m going to have to swim at some point,” he said.

“All I was thinking was I’d have to stay warm enough and I was trying to work out how else I could stay warm.

“I was really just hoping that there was a lonely fisherman out there cruising past, to be honest.”

He said he could hear the helicopters searching for him as the hours dragged on, even flying over him at one point.

“For them to miss you is not that hard, so I was splashing the water and I was trying to wave and whatever I could,” he said.

The dramatic search and rescue effort involved multiple emergency services including the RAC Rescue helicopter, volunteer marine rescue groups and the Australian Border Force.

Conditions were tough for the searchers, who battled high swells and gusty winds.

Police received reports about 6pm that a vessel was in distress and taking on water, with a second notification of the EPIRB activation via the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in Canberra.

Mr Robinson was eventually spotted by police air wing officers about 11pm.

Footage of the rescue showed his boat was all but underwater, save for a small portion of the hull on which he patiently waited for emergency services.

Police said the incident was a timely reminder for those heading out on the water to always wear a life jacket, and carry a registered and up-to-date EPIRB with GPS-enabled tracking to alert authorities to emergencies.