Police officer

Why did you become a lifeguard?

I was quite a competitive basketballer, then triathlete (both in the 80s) and my swimming was good but so I wanted a new challenge. I loved the beach so swimming and beach led to learning to be a lifeguard.

What is your most memorable rescue or lifeguarding experience?

A couple of years ago I was on a kayak and finishing a coaching session with a group of junior board paddlers at Mairangi Bay. It was cold, rain was on its way and a howling westerly was blowing hard off the shore towards Coromandel. I was keen for a hot shower but for some reason scanned out to sea and, along with my other coach Josh Green, we realised there were at least two people on boards being blown out towards the gulf. Josh and I paddled out 500m to the two struggling on the boards. It was two boys aged about 11 and they were getting extremely tired and were unable to get back on to their boards due to the strong offshore wind. They had limited control of their boards and each time they tried to get on were tipped straight back off. I got them to rest holding on to their boards and my kayak, reassuring them while I waited for Josh to arrive. Then we sheltered them from the wind as they climbed on their boards.

We helped them back to the beach. When we got there I went looking for their parents and found them sheltering from the wind under some trees. They initially denied the boys were their children but when they saw them they had to admit they had no idea where they had been.