Wamberal: Max Taylor, 11, wins Rescue of the Month award
A pint-sized grommet, just 11 years old, has taken out a coveted award after plucking a fully grown man from a deadly rip at Wamberal.
A pint-sized grommet, just 11 years old, has taken out a coveted award after plucking a fully grown man from a deadly rip at Wamberal.
Max Taylor was walking back to the car park to meet his dad following an after school surf when he heard someone calling for help.
He saw a group of people on their phones calling Triple-0 at the water’s edge and a swimmer further out caught in a rip.
“I’d just come in and thought I could help,” Max said.
With council lifeguard patrols over for the day and no other surfers in the water, Max took it on himself to attempt a rescue.
“I felt really confident. I’m in the water every single day even in winter so I’ve built up my skills,” Max said.
The tide was low and the 1m surf was breaking heavily on a sandbank.
After negotiating the break, Max paddled out to the swimmer and looking back at the shore, noticed he was almost 150m from the beach.
The swimmer was panicking and fatiguing fast.
Having done Nippers with Wamberal SLSC since he was six and being a member of the Wamberal Express Boardriders Club since he was old enough, Max drew on his experience.
Max got off his board and pushed it over to put space between them so he wasn’t dragged underwater and told the British backpacker to climb on.
After he had the swimmer balanced and floating on the board, Max pushed and kicked the board from behind back to shore.
Despite his water skills Max admitted pushing the adult male on the board was tough and wore him out.
“There was one point on the way back in that I got really tired and puffed out, but I saw Harry running down and he came to help me,” said Max.
Off-duty Central Coast lifeguard Harry Carpenter, a fellow surfer and member of Wamberal SLSC, helped Max as he arrived back onshore.
The swimmer said it was his first swim since landing in Australia and he had just dropped everything on the beach and walked into the water.
The man was exhausted from the experience but overwhelmingly thankful for the fast response from young Max.
Unaware of the incident, Max’s dad James Taylor saw his son shaking hands with a “pale man” who was wearing Union Jack shorts.
“He was standing there chatting away and I thought it was funny that they were shaking his hand,” Mr Taylor said.
“I thought he might have known him from the surf club or boardriders.
“He had a huge smile on his face as he walked up to the car. He told me `I just rescued that guy dad’. I didn’t know if I believed him.”
But Mr Carpenter came up and told him of Max’s remarkable effort.
“I was really overwhelmed by it,” Mr Taylor said.
“He’d paddled out and plucked a full grown man out of the water.”
Max was awarded NSW Life Saving’s Rescue of the Month.
Wamberal SLSC member Wayne Young nominated him for the award.
“We’re very proud of Max. He’s learnt so many skills as a Nipper and in his boardriders club,” he said.
“It is truly admirable that an 11 year-old could have the maturity to assess the risk to himself and know the extent of his own skill to save someone on his own.”
Mr Taylor said his son was very humble but hoped he understood the significance of what he was able to do and how proud everyone was of him.
Max was a little chuffed himself.
“I felt really happy that I saved someone’s life,” he said.
“It made me feel proud.”
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