A 30 year old man who was in the water for almost two hours was pulled to safety by Isle of Wight Council Lifeguards and a good Samaritan off the coast of Sandown Bay.
The mother of the man raised the alarm after becoming concerned she hadn't seen her son for some time on the morning of Tuesday 8 September.
Lifeguards immediately began a search and spotted the man off the coast heading away from shore. Lifeguard Luke Colbrook used a body board to swim out to the man and tried to get him onto the board.
However, the man was struggling to get on the board and another man in a small boat nearby was asked over to help. He came over but again the man in difficulty couldn't lift himself out of the water into the boat.
Eventually the man held onto the body board and was towed back to shore by the boat with the lifeguard close by.
The 30 year old was given a blanket and hot drinks when safely back on shore. He was tired and cold but otherwise unhurt.
Isle of Wight Council Cabinet member for Environment and Transport Edward Giles said "There is no doubt had lifeguards not been there then we could've been looking at a much worse situation.
"I also want to thank the man in the boat who assisted with the rescue as he played a big role in preventing a serious situation."