A teenager has saved his mother and two younger siblings by making a four-hour swim to raise the alarm despite fading light and rough conditions after the family was swept out to sea in Western Australia.
The Appelbee family were on holiday in Quindalup, 200km (125 miles) south of Perth, when strong winds pushed their inflatable paddleboards and kayak offshore from Geographe Bay on Friday afternoon.
Joanne Appelbee, 47, asked her 13-year-old, Austin, to kayak back to shore to get help, but his boat soon took on water, forcing him to swim 4km (2.5 miles) back to land.
Speaking to Australia’s national broadcaster, ABC, Austin described “fighting rough seas” while attempting to swim wearing a lifejacket. He removed the lifejacket after two hours to help him swim more efficiently.
“I thought I saw something in the water and I was really scared and I was just thinking in my head [that] I was going to make it through,” he said.
“I was very puffed out, but I couldn’t feel how tired I was,” he said. “At one point I was thinking of Thomas the Tank Engine, trying to get the happiest things in my head, trying to make it through. Not the bad things that would distract me.
“I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed, and then after that, I had to sprint 2km to get to the phone.”
Austin called emergency services. “I said ‘I need helicopters, I need planes, I need boats, my family’s out at sea.’ I was very calm about it. I think it was just a lot of shock.”
In a later interview with the BBC, the boy said he had not been sure if his family were still alive at that point. “I didn’t know their condition,” he said. After he made the call, he passed out from exhaustion.
Western Australia police received a report at 6pm on Friday that a family had been swept out to sea, and a multi-agency search and rescue operation was mobilised, including WA water police, local marine rescue volunteers and the state’s rescue helicopter.
They found Austin’s mother, his brother Beau, 12, and his sister Grace, eight, at about 8:30pm, drifting in the ocean and clinging to a paddleboard about 9 miles offshore.
A volunteer marine rescue vessel was directed to their location and all three were rescued.
“I had assumed Austin hadn’t made it,” Joanne told the BBC.
After passing out, Austin had been taken to hospital and called his father, not knowing if the rest of the family were OK. Minutes later he got a call to say they had been found. “It was a moment I will never forget,” he said.
Joanne described the outcome of their ordeal as “an absolute perfect ending”, to have all her children “well and happy and sore but no injuries”.
Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue’s commander, Paul Bresland, said Austin had given a detailed description of the colour of the kayaks and paddleboards, which was invaluable to the search efforts.
St John WA paramedics assessed the family before they were taken to Busselton health campus.
A spokesperson said it had been a remarkable rescue and praised Austin for his bravery.
Police inspector James Bradley thanked those involved in the rescue mission and said it was a reminder that ocean conditions can change rapidly.
“Thankfully, all three people were wearing lifejackets, which contributed to their survival,” he said.
“The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough. His determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings.”
Austin was back at school this week, the BBC reported, although on crutches to support his legs after his ordeal.
