"Go Get Help!"

Austin, 13, recounts how he swam over two miles for four hours to get help for his mother and siblings who were stranded at sea.   ABC Australia

 

"The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough -- his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings."

"This incident is a reminder that ocean conditions can change rapidly."

"Thankfully, all three people were wearing life-jackets, which contributed to their survival." 

South West District off Inspector James Bradley, Australia

 

"I knew it would be a long way -- but the kayak kept taking in water, I was fighting rough seas."

"I was very puffed out but I couldn't feel how tired I was. The waves were massive."

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming [he told himself]."

"I just said 'all right, not today, not today, not today'. I have to keep on going."

"I was thinking about mum, Beau and Grace. I was also thinking about my friends and my girlfriend -- I have a really good bunch of friends,."

"When I hit the floor I thought, how am I on land right now - is this a dream?"

"[Finally] I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed."

13-year-old Austin Appelbee

 

"[It was] one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. I knew he was the strongest and he could do it."

"I have three babies. All three of them made it. That was all that mattered."

"I had assumed Austin had made it a lot quicker than he had. As the day progressed, no vessels and nothing coming to save us."

"If he hasn't made it, what have I done, have I made the wrong decision, and is anyone going to come and save my other two?"

Joanne Appelbee, mother of three, Australia

The family was on holiday in Geographe Bay, Western Australia    Getty Images

 

An emergency call was received on Friday around 6:00 p.m. by Western Australia Police, alerting them that a woman and her two children had been swept out to sea in rough conditions. Joanne Appelbee had gone out with her three children on what had been a beautiful day to spend it  kayaking and paddleboarding in Geographe Bay, southwestern Australia off the coast of Quindalup. They hadn't reckoned with the sudden turn in the weather when conditions swiftly deteriorated and their joyous vacation turned into a dangerous situation. 

 

Joanne in fear of the situation she found herself and her three children in, vulnerable to an open sea that had suddenly turned rogue, made the difficult decision to remain where she was with 12-year-old Beau and daughter Grace, eight years old. She and the younger two children awaited rescue, clinging for eight hours in the roiling, wind-swept ocean to a paddleboard. Older son Austin was directed by his mother to set out on his own to make the perilous journey back to land where he could appeal for help for all of them.

 

Paddling off with his kayak in a determined effort to complete the mission assigned to him, knowing his success in reaching shore would mean the difference between life and death for his family, Austin encountered a number of decision-making imperatives that added to the stress he was under, but made those decisions and forced himself to complete a heroic journey, while taxing his strength and endurance to a point well beyond exhaustion. And when he had completed the initial portion of his feat of endurance, he continued on until his task was completed.

 

He described the failure of his kayak and the inevitable decision to abandon it. Instead swimming. And because his lifejacket constrained his movements, he abandoned it as well. As daylight faded and the conditions on the water became even more concerning, he swam for four kilometres alternating between a breaststroke, freestyle and survival backstroke for long distance energy-preservation. As he swam he made himself think of his family, his friends and his everyday life, pleasant thoughts that inspired him onward.

 

When he finally reached shore, stepping out of the water, there was no time to rest, to recuperate and regain some strength, since time was of the essence and so much depended on spurring a rescue operation for his family at sea. There was another kilometre left to challenge the completion of his mission. This time on land, he sprinted forward and onward where he found his mother's phone where they'd left their belongings, and called emergency services to report his family stranded at sea. Multiple maritime sea rescue services and a rescue helicopter were dispatched to locate and bring mother Joanne, younger son Beau and daughter Grace to safety.  

 

A map showing roughly where the family was found in Geographe Bay, and the wind speed. (ABC News)

 

"[Austin's survival was a] remarkable achievement." 

"He must be an accomplished swimmer, but even then, the water was cold enough to incapacitate him without unrelenting effort." 

"He was clearly driven on by the desire to save  his family -- this is a common and critical factor in such survival scenarios."

Mike Tipton, survival expert, professor of Human and Applied Physiology, University of Portsmouth, Britain  

Joanne and Austin with Beau, 12, and Grace, eight   ABC News/Briana Shepherd