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TWO teenage boys were lucky to escape with their lives after being caught out in heavy surf at North Boomerang recently.
At about 12.30pm on Monday April 14, two 16-year-olds from the Blue Mountains were riding in an inflatable “biscuit” when a strong rip suddenly swept them out to sea.
A group of local builders who were working on a house nearby immediately alerted authorities after noticing the boys in distress.
Lifeguard Supervisor Gerard Crowe said when the call came in, experienced lifeguard Warren Keegan drove to the beach and paddled out a rescue board while other lifeguards remained on standby at Pacific Palms Surf Club with a jetski.
Mr Crowe said when Mr Keegan paddled out and reached the boys he was suddenly thrown from his board by a huge wave.
“The surf would have been about six to seven foot. It’s an unpatrolled beach too. It baffles me that people go out in these conditions when there is a patrolled beach just down the road.
- Lifegaurd Supervisor Gerard Crowe
“Warren is a former NSW Country Champion and is very experienced in the water but just as he got to them he and his board got cleaned up by a big set,” he said.
“He decided to swim over to them and managed to get one of them back to shore while one of the builders who surfs got his board and assisted with getting the other guy back.
“Thankfully they were all ok.”
Mr Crowe, who arrived at the beach just after the rescue said the tourists had been extremely lucky and praised the actions of Mr Keegan and one of the builders.
“The surf would have been about six to seven foot, the seas were very heavy that day,” Mr Crowe said.
“It’s an unpatrolled beach too. It baffles me that people go out in these conditions when there is a patrolled beach just down the road.
“I think a lot of the time it just comes down to a lack of knowledge. These boys were lucky; they could have been in a lot more trouble.”
With the 2014 surf patrol season finishing on Sunday April 27, director of Surf Life Saving for the Lower North Coast Branch Julie Wilcox is urging people to continue to be safe in the water.
Surf lifesavers will still be available to respond to emergencies during the off season but regular patrols will not be conducted.
“The winter months are when a large percentage of drowning deaths occur in NSW,” Mrs Wilcox said.
“Rock fishermen become a particular concern as they make up a rather large percentage of those deaths.
“We encourage rock fishermen to purchase a life jacket and encourage people to let someone know where they will be if going out alone and to check the conditions before deciding to swim or surf.”
The 2014-2015 patrol season will start on Saturday September 20.