Brave teenager rescues one, then another

[depakid]

Source: The Age



LACHLAN Edwards, 15, had already rescued one man when he swam straight back into the rip at Point Impossible on the weekend to save a drowning woman. Struggling behind the break of the waves, she had taken in a lot of water and was too exhausted to keep fighting the current. ''She was a bit panicky, she was like 'someone please help me', and I said, 'I'm here now. You can hold on to me if you want','' Lachlan said.

He grabbed her arm and tried to swim her through the pounding waves. She realised how young he was and told him to swim back to safety without her. ''I kept assuring her that I could get back with her and she kept saying, 'leave me here, swim back, don't put yourself in danger' From the small crowd on the beach near Torquay, someone phoned police.

When leading senior constables Justin Joseph and Kelly Wray arrived, they saw Lachlan and the woman about 70 metres out. Leading Senior Constable Joseph stripped to his underpants and socks and ran into the water. He said he was surprised to see such a young rescuer and was immediately impressed.

''She was distraught; she kept saying 'I'm going to drown, I'm going to drown'. He was beyond his years, he relaxed her,'' Leading Senior Constable Joseph said.

The water was about four metres deep and Lachlan was becoming exhausted, trying to break through the rip with the woman. Police believe the woman had swum out to try to rescue the first man, who was being helped by another man when Lachlan initially responded to his scream. ''They got a bit stuck so I went out to help them,'' Lachlan said. ''I brought him back in but then I realised there was another woman who'd already gone to help this guy.''

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/brave-teenager-rescue...

[Horse with no Name]

1. What an incredibly brave young man

This is nice to hear.

[Moosepoop]

2. Now that's a hero!

Lachlan said he had been involved in Nippers and surf lifesaving since was about 10.

He is due to try for his bronze medallion lifesaving qualification in a few weeks.

I'd say he's earned the gold!

[1monster]

3. From article "He is due to try for his bronze medallion lifesaving qualification in a few week."

I'd say he'd already won that qualification!

I'm glad they all made it safely bsack to shore.

[Piewhacket]

14. I think he just earned it.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

34. he was good, but they both were lucky

Good for him, nice save.

Still, it's important to remember that letting a victim physically grab you should be a measure of last resort in a swimming rescue. Always try to throw them something or keep something between yourself and the victim if you're in the water together, since panicked swimmers are incredibly strong and have drowned many rescue swimmers. A great example is to peel off your shirt or bring a towel to toss toward the swimmer and use as a "rope" for the victim to hold while you pull them back in. If they freak out, you can let go and save yourself.

Toodles,
A former lifeguard.

[dothemath]

37. Happens all the time ............

Toodles is exactly right. There is an old saying that goes something like this,
"if you see someone in the water who is in distress, the last thing you should do is get in the water with them". If you do, now you will likely have 2 people in the water in distress. A good outcome becomes less likely and could be avoided.

[Botany]

4. Way to go!

n/t

[bertman]

5. Great story! Apparently Point Impossible is in Australia.

[Dulcinea]

13. Near Melbourne, as far as I can tell.

Kudos to this brave young man!

[AlphaCentauri]

6. Koo dos to the brave boy for giving us this positive news

there is hope for the future

[Iggo]

7. Nice job, kid.

That's what we're supposed to do.

[poverlay]

8. It's Sully Jr.!!! .. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

9. Well done, young sir.

Bravo. I salute your bravery.

[xfundy]

10. "Constable Joseph stripped to his underpants"

He'd be arrested in today's USA. Won't somebody PLEEEEZ think of th' chillrun?

[rhett o rick]

12. Yes and he would have to register as a sex offender. nt

[lillypaddle]

26. I'd laugh

but I'm afraid it's true.

[Odin2005]

11. That guy's got guts!

[Danascot]

15. What makes this accomplishment even more impressive

is that it's incredibly difficult and tiring to exert oneself for long in water because of resistance. Try flailing around in a pool for 5 minutes and you'll see what I mean. Stories of rescuers who have succumbed to exhaustion themselves are all too common.

He did two rescues, one after the other. He's not just courageous, he's a lot stronger than he looks.

[wroberts189]

29. Yes ..and rip tides are incredibly dangerous. nt

[Lasher]

39. He had an adrenalin rush.

People often have incredible strength when they're scared shitless.

Good on this fine young man for his selfless bravery!

[Unvanguard]

16. Now and again, there is a genuinely, unambiguously good news story

and this is one of them.

[emilyg]

17. True hero!

[Triana]

18. There are Angels...n/t

[ooglymoogly]

19. This boy is a man in the truest sense of the word. kr nt

[BobTheSubgenius]

20. Having done lifeguard training for several years when I was a LOT younger,

I can tell you for sure how physically demanding it is. The thing I REALLY remember was part of the test for Award Of Merit; almost 1000 metres of various towing techniques, back-to-back-to-back, then another 2000 metres of various strokes.* EXHAUSTING, and that was in a pool.

Luckily, I never had to tow someone through a rip, so I can only imagine how hard that is.

This kid's got heart, in more ways than one.



*a couple of hundred metres of freestyle, but without kicking, is MURDER. I'm so happy we never had to learn the fly.

[LaPera]

21. Torquay "English Riviera" as Basil Fawlty would describe it....Good Rescue!

Falwty Towers!

[ekelly]

23. One of my favorite shows! n/t

[audas]

30. Australia mate.

Train em young over here.

[Chemisse]

22. What a great story and an awesome young man.

And I like that the woman wanted him to save himself rather than risk his life for her. Wonderful. It must be hard to be so selfless in such a desperate situation.

[Libertas1776]

24. An incredible young lad.

That kid...er...rather, I should say young man is truly an inspiration. Heck, that kid has got cajones.

[Vidar]

25. K&R

[renate]

27. what a wonderful story--three heroes!

I'm so glad the woman didn't die... she was brave, too, trying to save the drowning man, and brave to tell Lachlan to go back to shore.

And bless Constable Joseph's heart... it sounds like he helped Lachlan towards the end.

But wow, what an amazing young man! (I bet his mother didn't know what he was up to, though. Not to put a damper on this excellent story, but last year an equally brave and unselfish young man from my son's high school died trying to save someone on the Oregon coast. It was such a heartbreaker.)

[Tim01]

28. HOLY COW! nt

[JNelson6563]

31. Rock on Mr. Hero-man!!

[Canuckistanian]

32. I sincerely hope he becomes a rescue trainer

Because it seems he's got a rare gift!

[FloydianSlip]

33. Great kid. Amazing story and one much needed after this trying week.

Nice to hear about people being brave anddecent to one another after the sickening teabagging nonsense. patriot:

[Uncle Joe]

35. What a great story, I'm happy everyone survived.

Thanks for the thread, depakid.

[Maestro]

36. Great feel good story!

Glad to see this boy getting some spotlight. He deserves it!

[DeSwiss]

38. The best line in the article is the last:

"He is due to try for his bronze medallion lifesaving qualification in a few weeks."

- I'd say he's passed it already, eh mate?

K&R

[blue sky at night]

40. anyone swimming in the OCEAN should be wearing....

a freaking life jacket!!! This is so obvious, but very few people ever do it...if they had been wearing them, all they would have had to do is relax and move latterly to the shore to where the current would go onshore instead of off...think about it folks next time you have your kids in the surf.

[blackbart99]

41. Need a few more selfless people in the world like him!!!!

Where in Australia is this? Point Impossible....don't think I'd be swimming there.
What's the highest civilian award in Australia? Need to give it to him.
Great post...thx

[Swede]

42. Crickey!

Way to go young fella.

[smirkymonkey]

43. Makes me want to cry...

seeing the best in people like that. Hats off to all the heros! Especially Lachlan!