Sailor, 75, on his last legs and last beer when help arrived - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Digby Campbell caught up with the three men who rescued him for a beer in Darwin after a harrowing month at sea. (ABC News: Oliver Chaseling)

After a freak wave off the coast of Timor-Leste in July destroyed Digby Campbell's navigational equipment and much of his rations, what was supposed to be a six-day voyage to Darwin turned into a weeks-long ordeal.

The 75-year-old veteran sailor was found drifting in Darwin Harbour last month, sunburnt, dehydrated and disoriented aboard his trimaran the Singapore Sling, more than a month after he departed Dili in early July.

Maritime officer Chris Chridland was one of the three men who spotted the boat and approached to do a welfare check.

"It just looked tired, so we thought we'd better go and have a look," he said.

Digby Campbell had been standing at the Singapore Sling's helm for a day and a half when he was finally rescued. (Supplied: Joshua Witkin)

Launch master Rawson McCrae and crew member Joshua Witkin said the Singapore Sling and its captain were in a sorry state when they pulled up alongside it.

"I said, 'You alright mate?' And he said, 'Not really,'" Mr Witkin said.

Mr McCrae said Mr Campbell's ankles were "swollen like you would not believe".

The men learned Mr Campbell had been standing at the yacht's helm trying to steer the ship into port for a day and a half and had not eaten for three days.

Rawson McCrae says he later realised he had sailed on the decades-old trimaran himself as a 10-year-old boy. (ABC News: Oliver Chaseling)

"I was buggered," Mr Campbell said.

The trio helped Mr Campbell safely to shore and into a waiting ambulance, but not before they had organised to meet again for a beer, to hear the full tale of the Singapore Sling's voyage.

"He said, 'I wanted to make a Sunday sesh, it's what kept me going,'" Mr McCrae said.

Mr Campbell said he had flown from Bundaberg to Dili in June to purchase the Singapore Sling, knowing the Val 31 trimaran to be a reliable vessel.

But he was held up in Dili, awaiting the handover of the boat's registration in the harbourmaster's office shortly before it closed for the day.

"All of a sudden [the harbourmaster] said, 'We gotta wait for someone,'" Mr Campbell said.

"Next minute this French backpacker shows up. He said, 'I want you to take this man with you.'

"Another French backpacker comes in and he's got a pushbike."

The view from the Singapore Sling before Digby Campbell left Dili, without the two backpackers. (Supplied: Digby Campbell)

Mr Campbell said he was able to convince the harbourmaster that the boat was not equipped for three passengers and was also in worse shape than he had expected.

"He was angry but he gave me my stamp and away I went," he said.

Two days out of port in early July, the Singapore Sling ran into rough seas off Timor's east coast and began falling apart.

"The big outboard on the back broke part of the bracket away and went underwater," Mr Campbell said.

"And about the same time one chain plate broke — that holds the mast up — and the battens were flying out of the main.

"So I had a motor in the water, the headsail was tangled up, and then another big wave come up over the back and took out the tablet and my phone."

Christopher Cridland says it would have taken Mr Campbell another two days to reach the harbour if he had not been rescued. (ABC News: Oliver Chaseling)

Faced with a choice between returning to Dili and pushing on to Darwin, Mr Campbell said he was only really left with one option.

"I thought the smart thing to do was turn around and go back, but I couldn't — I got the port captain and these two French backpackers on a pushbike. There was no way I was going back," he said.

At that point Mr Campbell had given Australian authorities four days' notice of his expected arrival into Darwin for what he thought was a six-day voyage.

During what turned into a four-week trip, Mr Campbell said he was given supplies and radio equipment by Australian Border Force personnel and received a welfare check in the dead of night from a Royal Australian Navy warship.

"I said, 'Convey my thanks to the captain, I'm OK,'" he said.

But by the time he reached Australian waters Mr Campbell's supplies were running dangerously low.

The Singapore Sling is now being prepared in Darwin for its next journey to New Zealand with a fresh coat of paint. (Supplied: Digby Campbell)

"I had one can of beer and two cans of Red Bull," he said.

"I thought, 'When I see Australia, I'm going to have that can of beer.'

"I actually drank the can of beer when I saw the lights of Darwin. I never saw land, but I thought, 'There's land there under the light.'"

Mr Cridland said when Mr Campbell was eventually rescued in waters off Darwin Harbour there was barely any wind and that his boat was only moving at about 1.5 knots per hour.

"It would've taken him two days to get into harbour with wind like that," he said.

When Mr Campbell was able to reunite with his three rescuers after recovering from the harrowing journey, one of them discovered he had his own connection to the Singapore Sling.

"We were able to make contact and caught up at Dinah Beach for a beer [and] started hearing Digby's stories," Mr McCrae said.

Joshua Witkin, Rawson McCrae and Christopher Cridland were presented with Distinguished Lifesaving Awards in Darwin this week. (Supplied: AMOU)

Having grown up in Darwin's sailing community, Mr McCrae said a nagging feeling led him to ask about the Singapore Sling's previous owner and realised he had actually sailed on the decades-old trimaran himself as a 10-year-old boy.

For their heroics, Mr McCrae, Mr Witkin and Mr Cridland were each given Distinguished Lifesaving Awards from the Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU) at an informal presentation at a pub on Darwin's waterfront this week.

"Their actions embody the very best traditions of the maritime profession and serve as a reminder that mariners look after one another, whether they are colleagues or complete strangers," AMOU president Matthew Jepsen said in a statement.

With the Singapore Sling repaired and given a fresh coat of paint, Mr Campbell said he was preparing to set sail for New Zealand, via Cairns, in a couple of weeks.

"I'll just wait for the wind to get the right direction," he said.