A man whose small boat was spotted in trouble off the shore of a lake just outside Canberra had to be rescued by the NSW State Emergency Service (SES).
According to a Facebook post, witnesses said the boat had a "roughly crafted sail made from a broomstick and a bed sheet".
The man also appeared to have only one oar and be paddling in circles about 2 kilometres off the lake's south-western shore.
A spokesman for the NSW SES said the man took the vessel onto Lake George earlier in the day in calmer weather.
"At 7:30pm last night, the NSW SES received a call for help when a man was found paddling in a small vessel on Lake George," he said.
"The man started paddling during the day when the weather was calmer and became stranded on the lake as the wind picked up."
The spokesman said volunteers from the Bungendore SES Unit responded to the incident.
"The man was able to safely paddle to shore by using the lights of the SES vehicle as a guide," he said.
"SES volunteers then helped pull the man and his vessel safely to shore.
"The NSW SES strongly encourages members of the community to take appropriate safety measures when undertaking water activities, including the wearing of a life jacket."
Lake George, where the man was sailing, is currently full of water, but is sometimes empty for years at a time, due to the way it fills and empties from rainfall and evaporation.
