shockedcanadian
Diamond Member
- Aug 6, 2012
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If this story is true I am floored. I am always a skeptic though, swimming for four hours in choppy waters at age 13?
His mother sent him out and it worked out, on the balance would it be the decision others on here would make? It worked out but assuming others were aware they were out, they would have contacted authorities to search for them anyways no?
Kid must have had a hell of an adrenaline rush that wouldnt quit. Ah to be young again. I love stories of survival against the odds. In many ways I can relate (not in this manner but more broadly speaking).
A 13-year-old boy is getting praise after swimming for hours to save the lives of his mother and two siblings who were swept out to sea in Western Australia.
Austin Appelbee and his family were vacationing in the town of Quindalup, situated on Geographe Bay, about 250 km south of Perth, on Friday when strong winds blew the inflatable paddleboards and kayak they were riding offshore, Western Australia police said in a statement
Austin tried to paddle to shore in the kayak before it took in water. That’s when he abandoned the kayak, removed his life jacket, and swam 4 km back to the beach to raise the alarm to alert authorities that his mother, Joanne, 47, brother Beau, 12, and sister Grace, 8, were stranded.
The swim took him about four hours.
“The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on. … I just kept thinking ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming,”’ the teen said . “And then I finally I made it to shore and I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed.”
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“One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was to say to Austin: ‘Try and get to shore and get some help. This could get really serious really quickly,‘” she told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The mother said she was confident he would reach shore but was filled with doubt as the sunset set and had yet to arrive.
“We kept positive, we were singing and we were joking and … we were treating it as a bit of a game until the sun started to go down and that’s when it was getting very choppy. Very big waves,” she said.
Joanne said she and her children were shivering and Beau had lost sensation in his leg due to the cold water.
“I have three babies. All three made it. That was all that mattered,” she said.
The family was medically assessed but didn’t require a hospital visit.
His mother sent him out and it worked out, on the balance would it be the decision others on here would make? It worked out but assuming others were aware they were out, they would have contacted authorities to search for them anyways no?
Kid must have had a hell of an adrenaline rush that wouldnt quit. Ah to be young again. I love stories of survival against the odds. In many ways I can relate (not in this manner but more broadly speaking).
A 13-year-old boy is getting praise after swimming for hours to save the lives of his mother and two siblings who were swept out to sea in Western Australia.
Austin Appelbee and his family were vacationing in the town of Quindalup, situated on Geographe Bay, about 250 km south of Perth, on Friday when strong winds blew the inflatable paddleboards and kayak they were riding offshore, Western Australia police said in a statement
Austin tried to paddle to shore in the kayak before it took in water. That’s when he abandoned the kayak, removed his life jacket, and swam 4 km back to the beach to raise the alarm to alert authorities that his mother, Joanne, 47, brother Beau, 12, and sister Grace, 8, were stranded.
The swim took him about four hours.
Waves were ‘massive’
In an interview with the Associated Press , Austin said he took off his life jacket because it impeded his swimming. He said he tried to focus on positive thoughts as he swam for hours looking for the shore.“The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on. … I just kept thinking ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming,”’ the teen said . “And then I finally I made it to shore and I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed.”
...........................................
What his mom said to him
Joanne Appelbee told local media she sent Austin out for help because she couldn’t leave the three children.“One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was to say to Austin: ‘Try and get to shore and get some help. This could get really serious really quickly,‘” she told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The mother said she was confident he would reach shore but was filled with doubt as the sunset set and had yet to arrive.
“We kept positive, we were singing and we were joking and … we were treating it as a bit of a game until the sun started to go down and that’s when it was getting very choppy. Very big waves,” she said.
Joanne said she and her children were shivering and Beau had lost sensation in his leg due to the cold water.
“I have three babies. All three made it. That was all that mattered,” she said.
The family was medically assessed but didn’t require a hospital visit.
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