‘I would have died’: Surf life saving legend, Coolangatta Gold champ Caine Eckstein helps save backpackers in rip at Byron Bay

A backpacker who found himself in trouble at a Byron Bay beach thought he and his partner were “meeting god this arvo” – but champion ironman Caine Eckstein appeared for a serendipitous rescue.

Surf life saving veteran Caine Eckstein helps rescue backpackers caught in a rip at Main Beach, Byron Bay. Picture: Supplied

An English backpacker who found himself in trouble in choppy surf at a northern NSW beach thought he and his partner were “meeting god this arvo” – but a champion ironman appeared for a serendipitous rescue.

Surf lifesaving veteran Caine Eckstein, 38, was coaching a longboard skills session, the first he had held at Main Beach, Byron Bay, when he spotted the swimmers in distress.

Ironman veteran Caine Eckstein. Picture: Jerad Williams

“It was 5.30pm NSW time (on Wednesday). I got there about 5pm … I was standing on the beach and I could just see two out there,” Eckstein told this publication.

“There was a northerly so it was pretty rough and dumpy.”

The five-time Coolangatta Gold winner, who was helping out Byron SLSC, said he “suddenly” realised the couple were in trouble and rushed down the beach, grabbed a board and headed out to help.

One of the teens Eckstein had lined up to coach followed him into the surf and the pair reached the man and woman caught in a rip, who had been pulled away from each other.

“She was OK and said ‘go help my boyfriend’,” Eckstein said.

Caine Eckstein after taking part in the Gold Coast Marathon.

“I reckon he was 30 seconds from going out dead. He had no strength and he was just going under … you can see it in their eyes – his were about to give up.”

Eckstein told the man to hold onto his board and straps and yelled to the teen to get the woman to hold onto his board.

“We got smashed around a bit because he was holding onto the board pulling us out to sea, so I’m telling him ‘let’s try and turn it, try and turn it’,” Eckstein said.

He managed to heave the man’s body onto the board and he paddled back to shore.

Caine Eckstein in the 2018 Coolangatta Gold. Picture: Jerad Williams

“I got him on land then raced back out because the girl had separated from the kid’s board again and by the time I got back out to her she was pretty scared,” Eckstein said.

“I reached out to her telling her to just hang on to my board.”

Eckstein and the other rescuer struggled to protect the woman’s head from striking their boards in the wild surf, but got her back to shore safely.

“The first thing the boyfriend said to me was ‘I would have died if you didn’t come out’,” Eckstein said.

“It was pretty full on, he was really close to something bad happening.

“He didn’t have much longer because they were in a rip that was taking them out and the waves were crashing them back in, so they’re in this vortex … you could see they weren’t going to go anywhere.”

Eckstein said he was not sure what would have happened if Go Sea Kayak owner/operator Kurt Tutt had not sent him a message to help the Byron club.

“Some things happen for a reason,” Eckstein said.

Caine Eckstein beating the world record for most pull-ups in an hour (he managed 1131) at Burleigh Heads. Picture: Richard Gosling

Mr Tutt said the rescued man told him: “I thought I was meeting God this arvo.”

The Byron SLSC member said once the couple were on dry land, Eckstein simply exclaimed “right-o boys, let get on with the session”.

“He just took it in his stride,” Mr Tutt said.

He said he believed the swimmers would likely have drowned had it not been for the timely training session on the beach and the actions of Eckstein and the other rescuer.

“It just felt like something really amazing happened on Wednesday night – basically two lives got saved,” Mr Tutt said.

“And this is one (rescue) I didn’t have to do thanks to Caine and the boys.”

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