A man in his 70s has died after being pulled from the water at Fingal Bay's notorious spit in Port Stephens.
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Police said the incident happened shortly after 10am on Sunday.
Surf Life Saving Hunter duty officer Stephen Leahy said a family group was at the sand spit.
"Two of them may have been hit by a large wave, which washed them into the water," Mr Leahy said.
"One of those was able to get out on their own."
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He said a 71-year-old man from Sydney was the other person washed into the water.
"He got into difficulty quite quickly and became submerged.
"Surf lifesavers from the nearby Fingal Bay Surf Life Saving Club were on duty.
"They attended by water and land. A short search found the man floating in the water."
The man was retrieved in a surf lifesaving rescue boat and brought back to the spit.
"At that time, police and NSW Ambulance paramedics were arriving," Mr Leahy said.
"Surf lifesavers and paramedics commenced CPR. Despite lengthy efforts, the man was unable to be revived.
"His body was taken to the surf lifesaving club and family members were supported by police and surf lifesavers."
Mr Leahy said Fingal spit was "a well known notoriously dangerous location".
"Nevertheless, there have been a number of deaths, near misses and serious rescues there over many years.
"Having said that, people that don't know the area and have limited understanding of beach and surf conditions would not recognise the dangers of the spit."
Port Stephens-Hunter police are investigating and a report is being prepared for the coroner.
Fingal Bay's Stephen Barnett said people still try to cross the spit, despite the dangers.
"I've seen people trying to swim to Fingal Island over the years. They don't get far before they turn back. I had to put a couple, who got stranded on the island, on my fishing kayak a couple of years ago. I've seen some stupid things here over the years," Mr Barnett said.
He added that the beach was "deceiving on good days".
"Nobody should swim north of the surf club. Also, there's a lot of sharks at the spit during the mullet run from now to June. Warnings need to be put in holiday accommodation, as well as permanent lifeguards at the spit during busy times."
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