Two brothers are counting their lucky stars after managing to flee their burning ketch in the nick of time and motor back to shore in a dinghy.

Their plans to sail around the world in their 57-foot steel ketch are now dead in the water but Tim and Andrew Francis are thankful they got back to dry land and were looked after by Senior Constable Mike Gorrie, the officer in charge of Russell police station.

The brothers live in Auckland and bought the ketch, named Dove, from the Bay of Islands for $40,000 during the last Covid lockdown. They travelled to Northland and stayed on board their boat on Friday and planned to sail the ketch to Auckland on Saturday.

Motor sailing from Opua, they were about five hours into their journey when tragedy unfolded.

This steel ketch named Dove went up in flames in the Bay of Islands while its owner Tim Francis and his brother Andrew were on board. Photo / Supplied

"We had gone around the Hole in the Rock and were heading south when we looked down and saw smoke in the motor and all of a sudden, it burst into flames," ketch owner Tim Francis said.

"It was already engulfed before we could go down. We were caught up in thick smoke and we saw flames coming out of the roof. It was very scary. It happened so quickly... in about 30 seconds.

"I had boats all my life and had sailed mostly around New Zealand but it's the first time something like this has happened. I was thinking of sailing around the world in that ketch."

Tim Francis said when they got into the dinghy, their ketch was well involved and they then motored to the nearest shore about 5km away.

Tim Francis, left, and brother Andrew managed to get on to a dinghy and flee after a fire broke out on their yacht. Photo / Supplied

His brother said they only had seconds to untie the inflatable dinghy which was secured at the back of the ketch, threw it overboard and get on to it in bumpy swells.

"It was just by luck we had this dinghy and we were together. The speed at which the fire got hold, we couldn't even lay our hands on the fire extinguisher," Andrew Francis said.

The brothers arrived at the Elliot Bay Campground and were met by Gorrie and other locals.

"We came up a few times and had everything checked out and passed in the boat and I spent a couple of weeks in the Bay of Islands in January and made sure everything was okay."

The ketch could sleep eight people and although it had to be re-fitted, Francis said the work was mostly cosmetic.

Gorrie took the brothers to their house in Russell where they had dinner before a friend picked them up and drove them back to Auckland about 10pm on Saturday.

Officer-in-charge of Russell police station Senior Constable Mike Gorrie brought two sailors home after their ketch was destroyed in a fire. Photo / Supplied

He said the brothers had their cellphones but their personal property went up in flames.

When the emergency call came through just before 3pm on Saturday, Gorrie contacted Search and Rescue which got in touch with the brothers and the Northland Regional Council harbourmaster.

The brothers couldn't thank Gorrie and his wife enough for their assistance and hospitality.

"They were awesome, going above and beyond in helping us. There's not a lot of people who'd take you into their homes. We're incredibly grateful to them," Tim Francis said.

Had everything gone to plan, the brothers were expected to arrive in Auckland yesterday afternoon.

The ketch was insured.