Teen detainees turn heroes in rescue of two drunk swimmers at North Entrance beach
THREE teenage detainees from Frank Baxter Juvenile Justice Centre went some way to making reparations when they pulled two drunk swimmers from rough seas in a rescue that has drawn praise from lifesavers.
THREE teenagers serving time at a juvenile facility have saved the lives of two drunk men caught in rough seas.
The detainees - from Frank Baxter Juvenile Justice Centre - pulled the drunk swimmers from rough seas in a rescue that has drawn praise from veteran lifesavers.
As part of their rehabilitation, the boys earned their Bronze Medallion while in custody and have been volunteering as patrol members during their day release on Sundays with the struggling North Entrance Surf Life Saving Club.
Youth Officer Joshua Rosenthal — who is also a club member who supervises their patrols — said about 2.30pm on February 7, lifesavers were called to assist in a rescue at The Entrance Channel.
“Two of the people on patrol had been called to help at the channel, which left the three boys on patrol,’’ he said.
The boys, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said a man alerted them to something in the water about 400m up the beach.
One grabbed a board and the other a rescue tube and the three sprinted to help what turned out to be two men struggling in nearly 2m-high waves about 60m offshore.
“The all terrain vehicle was quite a distance away so we just had to leg it,’’ one of the detainees said.
“The run really got to me because it was really long. I jumped in and ducked under the first wave and swallowed some water ... I thought, I’ve just got to keep going.’’
He made it to one of the men, a New Zealander aged in his early 20s, and with the help of the rescue tube, managed to drag him to shore while the other boy pulled the second man onto his rescue board and paddled him in.
“They were intoxicated and stuck in a rip,’’ one of the boys said.
“One of them, he was a Kiwi, said ‘you saved my life, bro’.
“They thanked us for our assistance, we mentioned to them the flags are not that far and they said next time they will go between the flags, for sure.’’
A notoriously dangerous beach outside the flagged area, it was only later did the magnitude of the rescue sink in.
“At first I thought it was just a rescue but afterwards I thought, they were drunk, they could have died. They were lucky,’’ he said.
Mr Rosenthal described their actions as “incredible’’ given they had the presence of mind to take both a rescue tube and a board in case one of them could not get out through the rough surf, while the third remained on the sand to maintain communication with the club house.
“The boys did an incredibly good job to run 400m up the beach carrying equipment and then to get out there in those conditions, they did an incredible job,’’ he said.
North Entrance Surf Life Saving Club president Rene Blom said the three boys had become valued patrol members.
“We had a couple of rescues going on at the same time so if they weren’t there I don’t know what would have happened,’’ he said.
“Hopefully the kids turn around, all the rest of the members are happy for them to be there.”
“We’re a small club, we struggle for numbers all the time so it’s good for us and it’s good for the boys. I think sometimes if kids are given a chance they can change.’’
A Juvenile Justice spokesman said community work, such as surf lifesaving, was an important part of their rehabilitation because they learned valuable skills that could help with future employment while giving back to the community at the same time.
Splash of vino, darl?: Car thief locked up after wine text bungle
A serial offender with more than 50 prior charges broke into a popular pub and stole thousands of bucks worth of booze before foolishly texting his lady a pic – asking if she was keen for a drop.
Alleged dog shooter ‘likely’ to plead guilty: Court
A man who allegedly robbed an elderly couple in their motorhome before shooting their dog with an air rifle is ‘likely’ to plead guilty, a court has heard.