The pair, both male, managed to swim ashore just as RNLI Peterhead lifeboat Misses Robertson of Kintail arrived on the scene at lunchtime.
The incident took place off Peterhead's Craigewan beach, at the mouth of the river Ugie.
The casualties were flown by helicopter to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Their conditions are unknown.
Two teenagers have been airlifted to hospital for treatment after getting into difficulty in waters off an Aberdeenshire beach.