“A frightening adventure”. Floating saved Vincent’s life after he got stranded in the ocean

Vincent (last name anonymous) is experienced in the water, but a split-second glitch led to problems last week, when he found himself stranded 1km off the northern beaches of Sydney.

On December 18, the 43-year-old set out early in the morning with a group of six others for a morning of paddling on surf skis, a type of kayak built to navigate waves on the open sea.

The plan was to start from Shelly Beach, a cove near Manly Beach, up the coast to Long Reef, a distance of about 6km.

However, about 2km into the trip, Vincent was knocked off his surf ski and the leg strap that attached him to the machine broke.

The paddlers set out from Shelly Beach, near Manly Beach, north of Sydney. Source: PAA / Paul Braven

He lost his boat due to the waves and lost sight of the group.

“When I fell in the water, I was close to one of the paddlers, but because there was a three to four meter swell, it’s difficult to see each other when moving through the water – and we can’t hear each other because the wind was blowing about 35 kilometers an hour,” he told SBS News.

Vincent said panic set in for a while as the sun had not yet risen and mist blocked his view of the headlands. However, he soon realized that his best chance of survival was to try to calm down and simply float with the tide.

After searching the pocket of his personal flotation device (PFD), Vincent managed to call the emergency services using his waterproof bag.

“I could hear them talking to me, but I was just trying to yell out my coordinates and tell them I was OK but I lost my watercraft,” he said.

By simply keeping his head above water, Vincent tried to conserve his energy and followed the tide, which was slowly bringing him closer to the shore of Manly Beach. He said he didn’t feel too panicked after a while.

“I think once I realized that if I just got on my back and kept my head up, everything would be OK,” he said.

“I was kind of drifting with the swell towards land and I was like, ‘OK, well, you’ll get there eventually, no matter how long it takes’.”

After being battered by swells for 45 minutes, Vincent was pulled from the water by two young Manly lifeguards in a lifeboat.

Although he says the incident was a “scary adventure,” he was glad he didn’t panic and try to swim against the tide.

Vincent said that even with his PFD, he would have been in trouble if he hadn’t gone with the ocean’s current.

“If I was just kicking and trying to fight the waves and trying to swim, you burn energy.”

Float to survive

Float to Survive is a campaign that spreads the message that floating and going with the flow of water in emergency situations is a “life skill” that can significantly reduce the number of drownings.

Bruce ‘Hoppo’ Hopkins, head lifeguard at Bondi Beach and president of the Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguards Association, launched the Float to Survive campaign in 2018.

He said he came up with the idea after teaching water safety to multicultural communities in Wollongong.

“What I found was that they all thought there were too many messages for them,” he told SBS News.

Bruce Hopkins (left) met with Governor General Sam Mostyn (right) in December to discuss the Float to Survive campaign. Credit: Float to survive

“After 32 years as a professional lifeguard, I know how people behave in water and most of the time, if you float and keep your head above water, the current will carry you across the sandbar or there where the waves break.

While most Australians are familiar with Surf Life Saving Australia’s water safety messages, such as knowing water conditions, avoiding alcohol and swimming between flags at a patrolled beach, Hopkins said he acted as preventative measures.

“There’s no message when you’re actually in trouble and in the water,” he said.

Hopkins said the floating technique works in water, from backyard pools to rivers and all inland waterways.

According to the latest national drowning report, which covers the period from July 2023 to June 2024, about a quarter of the 323 drowning deaths occurred on beaches and another quarter in rivers or streams.

There have been 19 drownings in Australia since July 1, including two men who drowned on different beaches in Victoria and New South Wales on Boxing Day.

There have been seven coastal drownings in NSW since December 1, according to Surf Life Saving NSW, and 180 rescues were carried out by volunteer lifeguards on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Steven Pearce, CEO of Surf Life Saving NSW, told SBS News the likelihood of drownings increases with the influx of people to the coast over the summer, as well as people heading to holiday locations.

“People tend to flock to places along the coast that are not patrolled when they go on vacation,” he said.

“In addition, as we have seen in recent days, people are obviously in a celebratory mood and the use of alcohol and recreational drugs is also having a significant impact on rescues and drownings.”

Hopkins believes teaching people to float in emergency situations can save lives.

While many people may panic at the thought of being swept far out to sea, Hopkins said the idea that people will “end up in New Zealand” is a myth and that the vast majority of the time, people caught in the currents will find themselves on a sandbar. on the beach if they float in the current.

“The rips aren’t dangerous, it’s just a flow of water, there’s no counter-current pulling you in, you just go with the flow of the water,” he said.

With more people now relying on floating in the water, Hopkins said the method has reduced the number of rescues carried out by lifeguards at Bondi Beach by 50 per cent over the past two years.

How to float

The Float to Survive campaign includes five steps to floating: tilt your head back and float, take slow, deep breaths, spread your arms and legs for balance, use gentle circular motions to balance and stay afloat and ask for help.

Hopkins said everyone floats a little differently and while children will tend to learn to float in a starfish shape, adults can slowly walk on water or lie down in the position of a starfish. a “dentist’s chair”.

Source: SBS News

“What we’re saying is that when you’re in any type of water, as long as your head and mouth are out of the water and you’re not using energy or you’re not Don’t minimize the use of your energy, stay in that position,’” Hopkins said.

As summer approaches, Float to Survive has launched swim programs to teach tens of thousands of students how to stay afloat in emergency situations and this skill is taught in swim classes across the country.

Hopkins said that while drownings will never be reduced to zero, floating with the current increases each person’s chance of survival.

“Just go to any waterway and practice in whatever position works for you,” Hopkins said.

“Once they get that position, they say, ‘OK, now if I can’t stand somewhere, this is what I do until someone can come get me. ‘”