Drowning of father who tried to save daughter at Black Head, rocks community

A Mid-North Coast community has been rocked by the tragic drowning of a Sydney man who was desperately trying to save his daughter caught in a rip.

A Mid-North Coast community has been rocked by the tragic drowning of a Sydney man who was desperately trying to save his daughter caught in a rip.

For one local it brought back feelings of “dread and terror” from the time he almost lost his life at a nearby beach.

The 42-year-old Sydney man is the second father to have died attempting to save their child this year.

The tragedy unfolded about 3pm at Black Head’s back beach - near the rocks at the very northern end of Nine Mile Beach north of Forster.

The beach is treacherous, with fast hard rips and unpredictable wave surges, and locals avoid swimming there.

“The surf there is notoriously dangerous,” Anne Paton said.

“Most people just walk their dogs there.”

Some refer to it as a “splash beach” at best, where you can cool off in the shallows or explore the rocks.

A man has died while trying to save his teenage daughter from a rip at a Mid-North Coast beach. About 3pm on Tuesday, January 3, emergency services were called to Back Beach, at Black Head about 25km north of Forster, following reports that a man had been pulled from the water unresponsive.

It is also popular with dog walkers and four-wheel drives that travel up from the Tuncurry end.

Emergency services were first called to the beach following reports a man had been pulled from the water unresponsive.

Police were told the 42-year-old father had gone into the surf to save his teenage daughter from a rip when he too got caught.

A nearby surfer was able to take the girl to shore. He then returned to help the man, who was unresponsive, back to the beach.

Black Head main beach which is patrolled.

Members of the public performed CPR until paramedics arrived, however, the man could not be revived.

Chief Inspector Nick Seddon from the Manning-Great Lakes Police District said the father had been on holiday with his family.

“Obviously, it’s a tragic situation and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family as well as those who were involved and had to witness this tragedy,” he said.

Memories of sinking under the waves

For one man it brought back feelings of “dread and terror” from the time he almost lost his life at a nearby beach three years ago.

Chris Tippett nearly drowned at a Forster beach three years ago and the recent tragedy struck him with "dread".

“I felt dread, that same feeling of terror, the feeling of helplessness he must have felt when there is no one there to save you,” Chris Tippett said.

Mr Tippett has lived in the area for more than 20 years and was saved at south One Mile Beach by some professional swimmers who “just happened to be there” and will never forget the terrifying ordeal.

“They held me afloat while the surf rescue came out which took about 15 minutes as the waves were so big they couldn’t get past them initially,” he said.

“It happened so quickly - one minute I was in waist deep water surrounded by people and the next I was desperately struggling to stay a float and about 100 meters or more off shore.”

He thought he knew his limits in the water in any situation but the ocean taught him a lesson that day he would never forget.

“My heart was maxed out and I could not maintain air flow to my lungs which meant my legs couldn’t kick and I just kept sinking under the chop of the waves,” he said.

With beaches up and down the coast packed with holiday makers - many who aren’t regular swimmers - there’s been a spate of drownings and near drownings in recent times.

Drowning deaths are now at a ten-year high.

Lifeguards are not child minders says man who rescued young boy

At Mereweather Beach in Newcastle earlier this week Scott Peters saved a young boy from a rip.

He said it was “no big deal” - just a case of being in the right place at the right time - but said he had noticed some parents who use lifeguards as a kind of child minding service.

Scott Peters with his son Usher-Takai Peters at the beach in Newcastle.

“I think the focus should be not to assume the lifeguards are a parents’ babysitter, simply because you’re in holiday mode or trying to relax and take in some sun,” he said.

“My urge is to simply pay attention and maintain a level of risk management when at the beach with children.

“Natural selection doesn’t apply to the unknowing children.”