AMSA's Rescue Coordination Centre Australia (RCC Australia) received an alert from a 406MHz distress beacon which was detected by satellite about 3am on Wednesday.
A shipping broadcast was issued and a Gladstone-based charter fishing vessel, Kanimbla, responded to the request for assistance.
Under the coordination of RCC Australia, the Kanimbla located a yacht with one person on board at Swain Reefs. The charter vessel recovered the yachtsman and is en route to Gladstone.
The distress beacon was registered to a post office box and there was no emergency contact available, complicating the rescue and increasing the response time.
AMSA reminds people to provide relevant details when registering their beacons and to update it when necessary.
This can be done online or by fax or email.