A Launceston scuba diver swept away by currents has told how he cried with relief when he finally reached land.

Lee Quarrell spent about five hours drifting at sea after being swept away from his dive boat and deckhand near Waterhouse Island, off Tasmania’s north-east, on Thursday.

Mr Quarrell has spoken about his ordeal in which a deep current dragged him about four nautical miles.

He floated back towards the island when the tide changed.

“I just said to myself, ‘don’t panic’,” he told reporters.

A search was mounted when his companion noticed he had not surfaced by the time his air had run out.

“The wind was blowing easterly so no matter how much I shouted he [the deckhand] couldn’t hear me,” he said.

Mr Quarrell was overcome by emotion when he recounted reaching rocks near the island’s shore by early evening.

“When I did get to the island, I broke down and I knew I was safe then,” he said.

A local boat crew spotted him seven hours after he was reported missing.

Mr Quarrell’s equally emotional fiance, Alecia Badcock, said it was a tough few hours.

“I was thinking the worst, as everyone was, because that’s a long time,” she said through tears.

“And I didn’t know what to say to the kids.”

Inspector Darren Hopkins said searchers were also relieved.

“This is the sort of search that we like, it’s a great result,” he said.

“It was great to see the faces on the family as soon as we announced that he was OK.”

Mr Quarell thanked emergency services and volunteers and said the ordeal had spurred him on to sign up.

“It’s a hell of a lot harder to find us lost out at sea or in the bush, so I’ll be definitely joining the volunteer SES myself.”