Boatie clings to beacon as boat with dog aboard washes up on Bribie Island

A man was found clinging to a marine beacon overnight after a 17-metre boat ran aground on a Sunshine Coast beach on Tuesday, with only a dog aboard, sparking an air and sea search.

The boat's skipper says he was trying to secure the small dinghy that had come loose from the main vessel when the waves pushed the dinghy into him and knocked him into the water.

Experienced boatie David Simpson, 64, said he watched his vessel, drift away from him with its motor still running, before he spent three hours clinging to a shipping channel beacon.

"The wave hit the side of the boat and I was trying to secure the dinghy which had come a little bit adrift," he told Nine's Today.

"A rope broke holding the dinghy and the dinghy hit me. I fell about 2½, three metres off the boat."

Emergency services were called to the vessel about 4.30pm after lifeguards found the boat, with the motor still running, had run aground on the northern tip of Bribie Island off Caloundra.

The 56-foot vessel washed up on the northern tip of Bribie Island, 90 kilometres north-east of Brisbane.Credit: RACQ LifeFlight Rescue

Sunshine Coast lifeguard supervisor Rhys Drury said lifeguards at a nearby beach noticed the boat about 30 minutes earlier and went to investigate.

Only a dog was found on board, triggering a search and rescue operation involving water police, surf lifesavers, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, RACQ LifeFlight Rescue and Coast Guard.

Police said the multi-agency search found the 64-year-old safe and well on a marine beacon off Bribie Island just after 7pm on Tuesday.

An RACQ LifeFlight Rescue spokeswoman said those on a nearby passing ship spotted the man standing at the top of a navigation beacon tower.

David Simpson, 64, tells of his three-hour ordeal off Bribie Island and the Caloundra coast. Credit: Today

The rescue helicopter flew to the beacon and hovered over the man for a short time, keeping a light on him, while Coast Guard and police boats arrived and took him to shore.

The rescue chopper was then stood down and returned to base, after the decision was made that the man did not need to be flown to hospital.

Mooloolaba Coast Guard Commander Ian Hunt told Today three helicopters and multiple Coast Guard boats were among the search vessels.

He said Mr Simpson was back at the Coast Guard base on Wednesday working out a plan to re-float his vessel and get it to a dock for assessment and repairs. It remains aground on Bribie Island.

Mr Simpson's dog, named Mitch, spent the night with surf lifesavers after being rescued from the stranded boat and he will be reunited with his owner on Wednesday.