Lennon Fisher, Kel McCredie, John Gray, Brian and Julie Wilcox and Ben Atkinson received the June National Rescue of the Month for the successful rescue of a Goulburn fisherman. 

The man had been fishing in a group of four off a rock platform near the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse on Wednesday May 7 when a rogue wave swept three of the men into the water. 

The fourth man was able to make his way safely back to shore. 

As soon as Mrs Wilcox received the call from the state operations centre notifying her of the situation she contacted the Pacific Palms SLSC callout team.  

Soon after, Mr Fisher, who was at Smiths Lake at the time, arrived at Boat Beach where he launched a jetski into the surf and proceeded to the last known location of the fishermen.

In the meantime, Mrs Wilcox also tasked John Gray, Brian Wilcox and Kel McCredie as backup on the beach. 

After searching for quite some time in wild seas, Mr Fisher noticed a fisherman standing on a rock platform yelling frantically and pointing in the direction of another man clinging to a rocky outcrop.  

When Mr Fisher approached the rocky outcrop he noticed the only way he could successfully get the man safety on the ski was to enter the water himself. 

Mr Fisher then pushed the man onto the sled of the ski and told him to hang on before remounting back on to it without it tipping.  

During this time, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter came in and winched the other man stranded on the rock platform to safety before searching the area for the other fisherman, who was later identified as Goulburn man Peter Oberg. 

Mr Fisher returned the man who was in shock, cramping and covered with cuts and bruises to Boat Beach where Mr Gray cared for the man until an ambulance arrived.

Club president Kel McCredie and Brian Wilcox also provided warm clothing for Mr Fisher and the patient. 

Along with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, Mr Fisher went back out on the jetski in rough conditions to continue searching for Mr Oberg who had last been seen floating face down in the water.  

The search for Mr Oberg was called off at dusk and resumed at 8am the following day.   

Mr Wilcox and fellow lifesaver Ben Atkinson continued the search along with Marine Rescue, Marine Area Command and Westpac Rescue Helicopter. 

The search area was established from Seal Rocks to Cape Hawke and six nautical miles seaward. 

Despite all of the search efforts, Mr Oberg was unfortunately never found. 

Mrs Wilcox said given the tragic circumstances, there is no doubt that the quick actions of the lifesaving team resulted in saving the lives of two of the fisherman.  

Mr Wilcox agreed and said the national award was a great honour. 

“It’s great recognition of the fantastic job that all surf lifesavers do. In particular, the Pacific Palms call out team,” he said. 

“To be recognised by our federal MP's is testament to the value of the service provided by our volunteers.”