I'm feeling a bit of a hero

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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:23 am

It's Waitangi Day here today in New Zealand, it's a public holiday so we had the day off. So this afternoon I went surfing.

I got to the main beach at about 3.30 in the afternoon. The waves weren't too big for me despite Cyclone Jean threatening to send down big swells in the next day or two (I'm still a bit of a learner). So I got quite a few rides in, the knees aren't that supple these days so a couple of them were just kneeling rides, but I had fun anyway. I surfed for about an hour and a half and then came in to go home.

While I was walking out of the surf and up onto the beach I noticed a guy in an inflatable ring out in a rip and being carried out at the right hand end of the beach. At that end of the beach there's an outcrop of rocks, a lava flow from the area's days as a a vocanic site - its almost an island but it's joined to the beach by a low ridge of rocks. Anyway, there is a bad, bad rip which runs up the side of this island/outcrop - the surfies use it to get out the back of the swells to catch a wave back in.

This guy was well out in the rip and he had an inflatable ring around his body under his shoulders, it seemed as if he wasn't making any headway out of it. So I put my anklestrap back on, got back on my board, and paddled out to where he was. He was an Indian guy, about 35 or so, and he didn't seem to understand what I was telling him to do, for him to swim sideways to the rocks. And all this time he was being swept further out in the rip. Eventually he understood enough to tell me he couldn't swim - probably couldn't get his arms over the inflatable ring to paddle properly. So I took his hand and started paddling him towards the rocks. Another surfer arrived and took his other side, and between us we got him to the rocks where he could climb out and walk back to the beach.

And the best thing was that I got an incredible wave back to the beach, so everything worked out real well.

Feeling quite smug now, not every day you save someone from the surf. Just had to tell someone.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:28 am

You are a hero!! Very Happy

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:30 am

So if I understand correctly, this guy drifted all the way from India to New Zealand in an inflatable ring? Wow ! Shocked

Anyway, congrats on saving his ass!

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:33 am

Shite, I'm probably in the deepest doo doo with the Immigration Department for assisting an illegal immigrant Laughing

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:17 am

Go you!

That guy could so easily have ended up as yet another statistic. You'd be amazed/appalled how many overseas visitors (often non-swimmers in the first place) decide to experience the ocean and surf without ANY clue of the dangers.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:22 pm

way to go nelson. good job on spotting him and getting him back safely
NZ's get indian's that come floating in on innertube's? here in the US we get cuban if your in florida, canadians if you in the north, and mexicans every where else

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:43 pm

You're so much nicer than me - I'd've beaten the crap out of him once I got him ashore, for being so fecking STUPID!!!! Evil or Very Mad

So well done you! Laughing

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:43 pm

Nelson, that must be an awesome feeling.

Bless ya! Cool

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:36 pm

Well done Nelson, that at Piha or Karekare? I used to surf both of them a long time back, I stick with the fishing now.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:48 pm

awww that's so sweet of you! Way to go!!!

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:25 pm

As a long-time resident of the gulf coast, I've often wondered - why in the name of god, allah, budha, and/or the goat would someone who can't swim decide that wedging theirself into an inflatable TOY and jumping into the crashing surf is even remotely a good idea? At any rate... congrats on the rescue! I hope he realizes that you saved his life... and learned something from the ordeal.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:06 pm

Well done Nelson! clapping

It's amazing that someone would go out in the ocean, an area with rip tides, and not know how to swim Shocked

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:14 pm

Way to go, NB!!!

happy crowd

Bruin

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:42 pm

Not only did you probably save the man's life, you saved his children, parents, siblings and families from a huge load of grief and sorrow. Way to go.

Trophy Videos · Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:34 pm

Congratulations Nelsonsbattle. There aren't alot of people who would risk their lives to save someone else's. It's a good thing you were on that beach that day. Nice job! Very Happy

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

Well done Nb.

I'm always amazed that people treat the sea as if it were a swimming pool even in the UK
My kids used to give me the "it's not fair" when I wouldn't let them use inflatables when on the beach but at least they were alive to moan about it

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:52 pm

That is great news. And yes, you more than likely saved the guys life.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:37 pm

Well done NB Thumbs up

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:52 am

That is fantastic! You stepped up in a situation that most likely would have had a bad result.

clapping

I am sure that you could see the gratitude in his eyes, once the fear left them.

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:36 am

irishemigrant wrote:

Well done Nelson, that at Piha or Karekare? I used to surf both of them a long time back, I stick with the fishing now.

Main beach at Mt Maunganui, we don't quite get the surf that the west coast beaches get, and on the day the swells were only 1 to 1.3 metres (3 to 4 foot). I use a 10 foot malibu board so there was plenty of support for me and anyone else who wanted to come along. Probably at the worst he would have been dragged out beyond the surf and floated around until the surf lifesavers launched an IRB (inflatable rescue boat) and gone out to bring him in.

I think he was embarrassed enough that he won't do it again. But we do have a problem of visitors, both from overseas and from inland towns, not understanding the beach and getting into trouble.

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:58 am

Great Job. I had to save someone who thought he was a good swimmer.
Dragged his ass for a long time until a surfer came to help.

clapping

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