‘This isn’t how I want to go out’
A beach nightmare has raised concerns about dangerous rips. By Cate Broughton.
A teenager has told of his brush with death after a summer swim turned into a nightmare.
Michael Butler, 18, and a colleague had gone to Scarborough beach to cool off before starting work on Friday – one of the hottest December days in years, hitting 33 degrees Celsius.
Fifteen minutes in, his friend got caught in a rip and called for help. Butler went to his aid, but got sucked out further by the powerful rip. He fought for about half an hour before giving up.
Exhausted and struggling to breathe he simply tried to stay afloat as waves crashed over him.
‘‘I thought I was going to die, I thought that was it. I kept saying to myself ‘I don’t want to die, this isn’t how I want to go out’."
Butler’s employer, James O’Caidside, was out surfing. He paddled to the other colleague’s aid, put him on his board, and swam towards the shore.
Another man in the water took over, allowing O’Caidside to get to shore to raise the alarm and Learn to Surf owner Aaron Lock grabbed a board and joined the rescue.
Butler recalled hearing Lock screaming to him.
‘‘I heard his voice and... I rolled back around and started screaming help... and he pulled me up on his board.’’
When the pair reached the shore Butler lost consciousness.
An ambulance took him, his colleague and O’Caidside to hos- pital, where he spent several hours being re-hydrated on a drip. He was uninjured, but ‘‘extremely tired’’.
‘‘After a really good sleep I’m just happy to be here. I probably won’t be going to the beach again anytime soon’’.
Butler said he had no thought of any potential danger when he entered the water.
He said it was ‘‘stupid’’ the beach did not have a surf lifeguard patrol. ‘‘It was the hottest day of the year and there were no life guards.’’
Volunteer lifesavers started weekend patrols at popular Christchurch beaches on November 18.
Daily patrols, sponsored by the Christchurch City Council and Waimakariri District Council, ran from December 18 to January 26.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand Southern Regional manager Stu Bryce said surf life savers operated ‘‘roving’’ patrols of Scarborough ‘‘as needed’’ on hot days when the tide was out and more people were at the beach.
There were no life savers stationed there because it was a tidal beach and often there was no space on the shore.
Bryce said if the city council wanted to extend the weekday patrols period there were plenty of qualified guards available.
Councillor Sara Templeton said she wanted regional surf-life saving patrols to start at the beginning of December.
‘‘December varies hugely, but especially when we have had a forecast for a longer, warmer, drier summer then it would be really good if those patrols started maybe two weeks earlier,’’ she said.
Templeton was not aware of formal discussions about the idea, but noted open-air pools with life guards operated from mid November. ‘‘So if people want a swim to cool off on a hot day we already fund safe areas.’’