Washing machine surf: ‘I thought she was gone’
It was pitch black under the water as Chaz Gibbons-Campbell desperately tried to find the girl in pounding surf.
One minute the Whiritoa Beach lifeguard was holding on to a terrified 8-year-old girl. The next, she was gone.
“I was frantically trying to feel around for her in the dark.”
Gibbons-Campbell, a lifeguard of 12 years, was off duty at Coromandel on January 3 when he headed into the water to go body surfing. The weather was good, the sky clear and swimmers were enjoying the waves. Surfers were sitting on the break about 70m out.
After swimming out he chatted with some of the more experienced surfers who described the waves as “heavy with a long holddown — conditions that throw you around like a washing machine if you get caught underneath them when they break”.
Gibbons-Campbell noticed two girls, aged 8 and 11, near the group.
“I stayed close, a few moderate waves then came through and of course all that water has to go somewhere. A flash rip began to take us all sideways. I asked the girls if they were okay.”
The girls said they were fine but as they drifted outside the flags, Gibbons-Campbell knew they were getting into dangerous territory.
“I asked again if they were okay and stressed that I had fins and was getting tired. If they need help the lifeguards can come and pick them up.”
The older of the two, who was slightly further out, said they were still fine.
“As I turned back out to sea I saw a huge set on the horizon and knew that we were in the zone where the wave was going to break.”
The 27-year-old told the frightened young girl closest to him that they needed to swim as hard as they could then dive deep.
“We dove under, the wave broke and sucked us into the washing machine. As I came up I looked around and she was next to me. I raised my hand to signal the lifeguards, while checking she was okay.”
A bigger wave approached. “This time I knew we had to dive deep and hold on to the bottom before pushing off and out through the whitewash — this is a hard swim with fins and this girl had none.
“We both took a deep breath and swam to the bottom. I was holding on to her armpits pushing her through the water,” he said.
By now lifeguards on the shore were rushing to help but the pair were still being pushed underwater. On one occasion he lost hold of her.
“I brushed past her foot and grabbed hold. I held on until it calmed down enough for me to push her to the surface.”
As they surfaced, lifeguards plucked the girl to safety. GibbonsCampbell then swam to the older girl at least 20m out, upset and exhausted. They were picked up by the IRB. Both girls headed back to their bach, later returning with their parents to thank the guards.
Gibbons-Campbell urged people to know their limits, stay between the flags and ask for help if needed.