Three men forced to jump into the ocean at night wearing nothing but boxer shorts and lifejackets, then had to swim back to their burning yacht to release the life raft.

Two Hamilton men and the Mexican skipper were forced to abandon the Bavaria 52 named Sunny Deck somewhere between Rarotonga to Tonga when a fire in the engine compartment engulfed the yacht.

The Sunny Deck survivors from left; Murray Vereker-Bindon, crewman Michael Boyd, both from Hamilton, and skipper Victor Campos.

Murray Vereker-Bindon, 70, and crewman Michael Boyd, 68, both from Hamilton, and Victor Campos, a 35-year-old professional skipper from Mexico were rescued from the life raft some hours later by the Hamburg Sud container ship Cap Capricorn, but as Neil Ratley from Stuff reports, it was close.

Vereker-Bindon's son Matthew Bindon says the men escaped injury and with nothing but their boxer shorts and life jackets. He has spoken with his father several times on the container ship since the rescue.

"They were doing well. Dad says he's finding it hard to sleep, it's all bit surreal at the moment," says Matthew.

Murray and Michael were sleeping in the rear cabin of the yacht with Victor on watch when the Mexican skipper smelled smoke.

"Victor had a look around and opened the hatch to the engine room where a fire was raging," says Matthew.

"As soon as he opened the door smoke billowed and poured into the cabins and Victor's shouts of 'fire, fire,' were what the guys woke up to."

Toxic fumes filled the cabin and moments later the three men were overboard. They had managed to set off the emergency beacon.

The trio then had to swim around to the back of the burning yacht and detach the life raft.

While they escaped without burns, there was a minor incident detaching the life raft.

"While they were cutting free the tether, the knife also punctured the raft."

Luckily life rafts were designed to stay afloat with some holes, says Matthew.

The emergency beacon was still registered to the previous owner with German details, so the alert from the Pacific Ocean was received by the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Bremen, before the New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre was contacted.

The previous owner contacted Matthew's stepmother in Mexico and told to her check on her husband. She called Matthew late in the night.

"I tried calling my father on the satellite phone and there was no answer. This wasn't good because I had been in regular contact. If the boat was still floating they'd pick up," says Matthew.

"I also kept tabs on his position using Automatic Identification System (AIS) and the yacht was not giving off a signal."

A call to the NZ Rescue Coordination Centre put the pieces of the puzzle together for both Matthew and the rescue centre.

RCCNZ identified ships nearby and the MV Cap Capricorn on its journey from California to Auckland was the closest. It was requested to divert and provide assistance.

Flames from the burning Sunny Deck acted as a beacon for the captain of the approaching ship and the men were eventually found in their raft - visible by the "glow from the burning yacht".

"They were very lucky to be in the shipping lane. Apparently the Sunny Deck had been the only boat the Capricorn had seen on its trip," says Matthew.

RCCNZ search and rescue mission coordinator Dave Wilson says it was good planning by the crew to have a rescue beacon, and fortunate that they had just enough time to grab it before jumping overboard. Conditions in the area were not easy, with seas of about 3.5m, and winds of 45kmh.

MV Cap Capricorn is en-route to Auckland and is due to arrive on Saturday.

There will be a welcome party for the rescued sailors, says Matthew. They may also need someone to vouch for them as their identification is at the bottom of the sea. Some warm clothes may also be appreciated. His father will also need someone to let him back into his Hamilton home, says Matthew.

"He left his keys on the yacht."

Murray Vereker-Bindon and his wife Yolanda live in Acapulco, Mexico but travel back regularly to New Zealand. He was a prominent lawyer in Hamilton and still works as a consultant.

He met Yolanda, an engineering professor from Mexico, while travelling in China in 2000 and they married in Mexico City in 2003.

The couple run a company that offers students school exchanges between New Zealand and Mexico.