Two people have been winched to safety after their boat sunk off the coast of Tairua.

A search and rescue operation was launched on Wednesday after the Rescue Coordination Centre received a beacon activation.

The Whitanga Westpac Rescue crew was tasked to assist in the operation at 10.47am.

'Westpac 3 crew located two male patients in their 70's in the water whose boat had sunk,” says a spokesperson for the rescue helicopter.

'They were extracted by winch and flown back to Whitianga base.

'They were in a moderate condition and left in the care of ambulance.”

Coastguard Tairua-Pauanui President Andrew Gibson says Coastguard Tairua-Pauanui was called out at 10.50am to an EPRIB that had been activated off the southern end of Shoe Island/Motuhoa.

He says weather conditions at the time were poor, raining with a strong easterly wind and 1m plus choppy seas.

As Pauanui Rescue approached the southern end of Shoe Island, Westpac helicopter was already on scene, winching up the two people from the upturned vessel.

Westpac advised Coastguard all people on board had been retrieved and the EPIRB had been deactivated.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to tow the vessel back over the Tairua bar due to sea conditions at the time.

"We proceeded to tow the upturned 7.6m vessel to a small bay nearby where we anchored it and advised Coastguard Radio of the location for retrieval by a local salvage operator."