A young swimmer has had a lucky call after being caught in a rip in Bouvard after he was saved by a long-time lifesaver who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Wayne Weller, of Madora Bay, was touring some friends around Bouvard Beach on Tuesday morning, when he noticed a young man past the breakers.
“We had some friends from Melbourne over, and I was showing them that part of the beach when we saw him,” he said.
“There were only a few kids on the beach. We were looking out to what was happening in the water, and it was really nasty, with big dumping waves.
“But there was this one swimmer out past the wave zone. As you do, we watched him, and he was looking really tired, as you can notice when their arms are pulling out of the water.
“I said to my mate, ‘this doesn’t look too good’, and that’s when a boy ran into the surf club and said, ‘he’s my brother’.”
Mr Weller, who has been a surf lifesaver for 52 years, immediately took action.
“I quickly pulled my gear off, passed it to the other kids on the beach and jumped in.”
The young man – who Mr Weller remembers as “Ryan” – was far past the waves as the rip pulled him out.
“It was just lucky I was out at that part of the beach. He was a fair way out, but he had his hand up in the air, which is a good thing because it made him easier to see,” he said.
Mr Weller managed to pass the breakers, grab onto the youth and begin to drift north out of the rip.
“I noticed the current was heading that way, so I just grabbed him and started survivor paddling to somewhere where we could swim back in,” Mr Weller said.
“I managed to get out and get him and swim upwards out of the rip, and I brought him back through the breakers and got him back on the beach.
Members of the Bouvard Surf Lifesaving Club had called emergency services, as by the time Mr Weller reached him, the young man was a “very long distance” out from the shore.
Mr Weller was able to guide the youth back to safety further down the beach, where “it was like Christmas” when his feet touched the shore.
He was pretty tired, we both were,” Mr Weller said.
“He was trying to swim against the rip, which is what everybody does, and he wasn’t going to make that.
“So by the time I made it out to him – and he was a long way out, I gotta tell you – he was getting very tired.
“So we just took eat easy, breast-stroked out and went into the drift.”
Mr Weller received a call from the president of the Bouvard Surf Lifesaving Club, thanking him for taking such heroic action.
