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Teen Swims 4km to Save Family at Sea
A 13-year-old Australian boy swam four kilometers through rough seas to raise the alarm, saving his mother and two siblings after they were swept out to sea during a family outing.
Austin Appelbee (right) saved his brother Beau, mother Joanne and sister Grace (left to right).
A 13-year-old boy has been credited with saving the lives of his mother and two younger siblings after swimming for hours to shore to raise the alarm when the family was swept out to sea off the coast of Western Australia, police said.
Austin Appelbee swam about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to shore after encountering trouble on Friday while kayaking with his mother, Joanne Appelbee, 47, his 12-year-old brother Beau and his 8-year-old sister Grace. The family, from Perth, had been on holiday near Quindalup and were using kayaks and paddle boards hired from their hotel when worsening ocean and wind conditions dragged them farther out to sea around noon.
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Austin initially set off toward shore on an inflatable kayak but abandoned it when it began taking on water. He also removed his life jacket, saying it made swimming more difficult. He then swam for about four hours through rough seas, reaching shore at around 6 p.m., where he collapsed after raising the alarm.
“I think, at one point, I was thinking of ‘Thomas the Tank Engine,’ you know, trying to get the happiest things in my head, trying to make it through,” Austin said on Tuesday. “The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on. … I just kept thinking ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming.’”
Naturaliste Marine Rescue commander Paul Bresland described Austin’s effort as “superhuman.” He told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. That Austin swam for about two hours wearing a life jacket before discarding it and continuing for another two hours without one.
“I didn’t think I was a hero,” Austin later told the BBC. “I just did what I did.”
A search helicopter located Joanne Appelbee and the two younger children at about 8:30 p.m., police said. They were wearing life jackets and clinging to a paddleboard after drifting roughly 14 kilometers (9 miles) from their starting point and spending up to 10 hours in the water.
Police Inspector James Bradley praised the teenager’s actions, saying: “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.”
Joanne Appelbee said she made the difficult decision to send her eldest child for help because she could not leave all three children herself. “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 the ABC.
She said she remained confident that Austin would reach shore but became increasingly anxious as the sun set and rescue teams had not yet arrived. While waiting, she said the family tried to stay positive, singing and joking until conditions worsened.
Rescue commander Bresland said the mother spent hours keeping the children together in rough seas, holding onto the paddleboard despite exhaustion. “Physically, she just said, ‘I’m struggling, I can’t,’ but she just kept going and kept them together,” he said.
By the time they were rescued, all three were shivering, and Beau had lost sensation in his legs due to the cold, Joanne Appelbee said. “We made it, we’re alive, and that’s the most important thing, and I have all three babies,” she said. “All three of them made it. That was all that mattered.”
All four family members were medically assessed after the rescue, but none required hospital admission.
In a social media post, the Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue Group praised the family’s courage, singling out Austin’s actions. “The bravery, strength, and courage shown by this family were extraordinary, especially the young fella who swam 4km to raise the alarm and set everything into motion,” the group wrote.
Editor’s Note:
This article is based on statements from Western Australia police, rescue officials, and interviews with the Appelbee family. All details reflect information available at the time of reporting.
