Gold Coast filmmaker’s Rip Current Heroes documentary to air on National Geographic
A YOUNG man died along this stretch of paradise this week. Hours later a Gold Coast filmmaker unveiled the passion project he believes can stop others suffering a similar fate.
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THREE hours before he unveiled his new documentary to the world this week, Jason Markland received a phone call that reinforced why it’s the most important he’s ever made.
“I couldn’t believe it when you told me,” the Kirra filmmaker said of learning from the Gold Coast Bulletin that a 21-year-old man had drowned at an unpatrolled beach near Byron Bay on the very day Rip Current Heroes was having its premiere at the Arts Centre Gold Coast.
“But at the same time it’s not really surprising. We’re an aquatic nation filled with people who can’t identify a rip. I know I couldn’t before I started this project and I bet I would have panicked like hell if I got caught in one.
“That’s why this is the most important documentary I’ve ever made. I honestly believe it will save lives.”
Nothing could be done on Wednesday to save the life of the young Brisbane man who was dragged from the waters of Tallow Beach, just south of Byron Bay.
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It is understood his girlfriend raised the alarm that he was in trouble, with an off-duty firefighter initially performing CPR before paramedics attempted but were unable to revive him.
For Markland, who has toiled for five years to make Rip Current Heroes a reality, the tragedy had an eerie ring about it.
“It’s exactly what we outline in the documentary,” he said.
“An unpatrolled beach. A sunny day. It sounds like the surf wasn’t huge and, like the majority of victims, he was a male aged between 15 and 39.
“They think the water looks awesome but the rips are still there.”
As Markland was learning of the death, his key collaborator on the world’s first documentary on rip current science and survival was flying into the Gold Coast for the premiere – and was amazed by what he saw from his window seat.
“Even he was stunned by how many rips he could see along the beaches of northern NSW and the Gold Coast,” Markland said of the University of NSW’s Rob Brander, who has earned the moniker ‘Dr Rip’ after three decades studying surf zones and advocating for increased rip education.
“No one understands rips the way Rob does. We don’t call him a hero in the documentary but he is because he has totally committed his life to saving lives.”
When Markland first contacted Brander five years ago with a vision of creating an hour-long documentary based on his science, the academic thought: “Here we go again.”
Several filmmakers had approached him with a similar goal over the years. All had failed.
What Brander didn’t count on was the dogged persistence of a Gold Coaster who has spent 30 years creating factual-based content for the likes of National Geographic and Discovery channels.
Adopting a grassroots strategy, Markland raised much-needed financial and in-kind pledges for the not-for-profit project.
He built strong bonds with locals haunted by rip drownings and near-misses that enabled him to recreate their powerful stories on-screen.
Most importantly, he secured a distributor in National Geographic that has committed to screen Rip Current Heroes across platforms including television, mobile apps and inbound Qantas flights, as well as making it freely available with study guides to Australian schools from next year.
“It’s exceeded what I imagined,” Markland admitted. “So many people put their hands up and said ‘This program is really important and we want to find a way to help you make this’.”
Among them was the family of Ryan Martin, the 30-year-old who drowned on Good Friday last year during the dramatic rescue of seven-year-old Rhianna Milabo at unpatrolled Dreamtime Beach, just south of Fingal Head.
“That story really illustrates the life-changing impact that can unfold from a single decision,” Markland said of the documentary’s most emotive scenes.
“But I wouldn’t have even mentioned it if they didn’t give me their blessing.”
They did though, as did the parents of the little girl Ryan saved, a couple who knows better than anyone how quickly an innocent swim on a sunny day can turn to tragedy.
“We owe our daughter’s life to Ryan Martin,” Shyra Milabo says in the documentary’s final touching moment.
“He was so brave for what he did. We will make sure he will always be remembered as a hero to our family.”
Rip Current Heroes premieres on National Geographic at 8pm (Queensland time) Wednesday.
HOW TO SPOT A RIP CURRENT
Rips don’t always show all these signs at once but look for:
• Deeper, dark-coloured water
• Fewer breaking waves
• A rippled surface surrounded by smooth waters
• Anything floating out to sea
• Foamy, discoloured, sandy water flowing out beyond the waves
HOW TO SURVIVE A RIP
• Stay calm and consider your options
• Raise an arm to seek help
• Try floating with the current as it may bring you back to shore
• Swim parallel to shore or towards breaking waves and use them to help you in
• Reassess your situation and if what you are doing is not working, try one of the other options until you are rescued or return to shore
Source: beachsafe.org.au
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