A sealer who had been reported missing off the northernmost tip of Newfoundland was found safe Wednesday, when a Canadian Coast Guard vessel employee spied him on a floe in the distance.

Rex Saunders, 66, was taken to hospital in St. Anthony for observation, but was in good health and better spirits when the coast guard vessel Ann Harvey pulled him aboard, the ship's captain, Terry Frost, told CBC News.

"He was a very lucky man. That lookout caught him just as we were going by," Frost said.

Saunders, who lives in the Northern Peninsula community of St. Lunaire-Griquet, had gone out to shoot seals for personal use on Monday in a six-metre open boat. He ran into trouble on Monday evening, Frost said, when the boat hit ice and capsized.

'He was a very lucky man. That lookout caught him just as we were going by.'— Capt. Terry Frost

Saunders, who was wearing a survival suit, made it to a pan of ice, where he stayed over the course of two nights in chilly temperatures.

His brother, Herb Saunders, told CBC News Wednesday afternoon that a search and a rescue airplane flew over his brother twice, but obviously was not able to spot him. Saunders said his brother remained awake throughout the period, and that he was in relatively good shape.

Frost said the crew of the Ann Harvey was beginning to lose hope during Wednesday morning's patrol.

"We were quite relieved to see him up. He was standing up, waving his arms to us," said Frost, adding the survival suit provided more than warmth to Saunders. "We could spot his red suit in the ice," he said.

The crew of the Ann Harvey found Saunders around 7 a.m.

Search and rescue officials had also involved a helicopter and an airplane in the search for Saunders.

Hayward Primmer, a Pentecostal pastor, said Saunders's family and friends are overjoyed that he was found safe and sound.

"Everybody is just absolutely ecstatic," Primmer told CBC News.

"It's a prayer answered. It's been a difficult journey, but it turned out good."