Australian sailor rescued after spending hours clinging to a beacon in the middle of the ocean David Matthews An Australian sailor was rescued after he fell off his yacht and and clung to a beacon in the middle of the ocean for several hours. David Simpson, 64, was boating in the Coral Sea, off the eastern coast of Australia, when a wave hit his vessel, tossing him overboard. Simpson was unable to catch up with the boat which floated away. However, he was able to swim about a half mile to a beacon and wait for a wave to push him up to its ladder which he held onto for hours waiting for rescue.