A 67-year-old sailor has been winched to safety after his trimaran ran aground on South Barron Island near Shoalwater Bay in central Queensland.

An emergency beacon was activated at 3:00am on Saturday, but the remote location prevented rescue crews making further contact with the man until they arrived at the site of the activated EPIRB.

The trimaran had hit rocks, with one hull destroyed as the craft was buffeted by swell.

The CapRescue helicopter was able to find the wreck and winch a paramedic onto the boat to assist the man, who was alone.

CapRescue crew officer Ryan Bebbington said the vessel had been stranded for about 10 hours in challenging conditions.

"He first ran aground not long after last light," he said.

"It was still dark when we first located the vessel.

"He had no radio communication, so no-one could get him and we were the first to make contact.

"There was nowhere for the helicopter to land so we did a hover exit on the beach and I got out and noticed he was having a medical emergency.

Mr Bebbington managed to stabilise the man and winch him aboard the helicopter.

The sailor was flown to the Capricorn Rescue hangar in Mackay and taken by ambulance to Mackay Base Hospital where he remains in a stable condition.