Seven rescued from flash rip
A flash rip at Port Waikato took seconds to sweep seven people from waist-deep water to about 200 metres offshore.
The group of teenagers was rescued by volunteers from Sunset Beach Surf Life Saving Club who were almost packed up after a Sunday on patrol.
‘‘Three of them were probably capable swimmers and possibly would have made it to shore,’’ club president Malcolm Beattie said.
‘‘But four of them would never have made it.’’
The surf life saving volunteers hung around a bit longer because of the warm weather.
‘‘They’re pretty diligent . . . Thank goodness they did.’’
Beattie was at the beach during the rescue, as he’d come to check on the surf life savers at the end of the day.
The tide was halfway out, making it a tricky time on the west coast beach, as rips develop more quickly.
It was a hot night and, within seconds of getting in, the teenage swimmers were swept out in a flash rip, he said.
‘‘A flash rip is quite alarming because you don’t really see it until it starts to grab you.’’
Lifeguard Jen Griffith went out with tubes and fins while Jack Morgan paddled out on a rescue board, and the pair reassured the group, a report on the incident says.
Meanwhile, an inflatable rescue boat (IRB) was launched by Jack Avery and Mikey Waldegrave, and pulled the first two people out as the group started to drift closer to rocks.
The IRB ferried people back to shore, until the final two were swum back to shore by Griffith and Morgan.
Mass rescues of that size are relatively uncommon but Sunset Beach rescued nine people – also at the end of the day – in late January.
In the latest incident, the four who had been struggling were exhausted, Beattie said.
There was initially some bravado among the other three, who said they were okay and asked why the guards had bothered rescuing them.
But once their friends disagreed and guards pointed out they’d been going backwards, they conceded maybe they’d needed help too.
‘‘We talked to people on the beach for some time to make sure that they were okay,’’ Beattie said.
‘‘They were all free to walk away. The exhausted ones were just catching their breath and going, ‘Hey, we were pretty lucky bro,’ was one comment.’’
They’d swum at half tide, Beattie said, and any time from half tide to low tide is a danger zone if lifeguards aren’t around.
On the same day, Raglan took out an IRB to rescue a surfer who became exhausted trying to paddle in.
They also gave first aid to a surfer hit in the face by their board, resulting in a deep cut between the eye and nose.
Lifeguards cleaned and dressed the wound, but advised the patient to see a doctor for stitches.