Surf Life Saving Gold Coast: Teen's heroics reminder of beach safety
Will Prentice was waiting on the beach to be picked up by his mum. Then he saw a fellow surfer in trouble. What happened next was extraordinary.
Gold Coast
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SURF Life Saving Queensland are using the example of a teen’s heroics in the water as a reminder for Gold Coast beachgoers to stay safe this summer season when in the unpredictable ocean.
Enjoying a weekend away from school, Will Prentice went to pick up his mal surfboard from a repair shop and headed to Palm Beach.
What followed that autumn day was not what the 15-year-old was expecting — and he certainly does not want a repeat.
The Year 10 student at Elanora State High at the time became a hero in a matter of minutes when he rescued a fellow surfer.
The teen remembers the swell being about two metres the day of the rescue on April 5.
As the sun started to set, Will decided to join other surfers and head ashore.
“I went down to the beach around 12.30pm and went for a surf for a few hours and laid on the beach for a couple more waiting for Mum,” he said.
“A few minutes before she got there, I saw a woman running up and down the beach.”
The woman, surfing moments earlier with her partner, had made her way back to shore but had lost her board.
She was looking for someone to help her husband, who was struggling in swelling surf.
“I took my board in and paddled through the surf. It was pretty big,” Will recalls.
“I got to a man who had lost his board and gave him mine.
“I swam next to him as we tried to get back to shore. He got hit hard by some big sets, but he was eventually able to get in.”
Having been involved in surf lifesaving for four years and helping patrol beaches for the past two seasons, Will said he did not think about what he’d been taught when helping the man. Thankfully, his rescue skills became second nature.
With millions of visitors flocking to the Gold Coast every year, Will’s bravery and skills demonstrate why volunteer surf lifesavers are vital.
Last season they saved more than 300 lives, performed 29,702 preventative actions and 5763 first aid treatments across the city’s beaches.
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SURF Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) launched its Save Our Savers (SOS) Week campaign on Monday, encouraging people to donate to help fund what is required to keep beachgoers safe.
SLSQ ambassadors Matt Bevilacqua and Harriet Brown have thrown their support behind the initiative, and coming from Tasmania and Victoria respectively, the adopted Gold Coasters want to remind the city how lucky it is to have beautiful beaches and lifesavers.
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“It’s a well-known fact how lucky we are here with the beaches and we have great volunteers that help us all be safe over the weekends. Not all of Australia has those privileges,” five-times world paddleboard champion Bevilacqua said.
The Nutri-Grain ironman/woman series winners are still training hard on the Coast’s beaches despite the current season not going ahead due to COVID-19.
“All Queenslanders love going to the beach so it’s really important that we have the protection and safety from the volunteer lifesavers, who work to keep everyone safe over summer,” world ironwoman champion Brown said.
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Last season Ela Heiniger raised $180,162 for the Burleigh Heads SLSC, earning her the Surf Life Saving Queensland’s (SLSQ) Surf Girl highest fundraiser.
The Coolangatta Gold competitor said fundraising for Burleigh Heads SLSC this season was up in the air, with the club trying to find ways to earn money while keeping the community safe during the pandemic.
“The Nippers going ahead is a great start, allowing us to have barbecues but there’s still an unknown for some of the larger events,” she said.
“The more the restrictions ease, the more we’ll be able to do.
“All the money is divided across the club, helping us get what we need. Safety equipment, first aid requirements, IRBs – all of them cost money, so not getting funding is detrimental to everyone wanting to stay safe on the beach.”
Gold Coast lifesaving services co-ordinator Nathan Fife said lifesavers were happy to be back patrolling and had a busy start to the season with school holidays.
“Now is the time to dig deep and help out our lifesavers,” he said.
People can donate to clubs at sosweek.raisely.com
It comes after last month SLSQ warning the lives of beachgoers will be “at risk” at the height of summer when the Government’s multimillion-dollar funding deal dries up.
The iconic organisation has been unable to negotiate a new contract with the Labor Government, meaning it will be “unable to adequately plan and resource” the season beyond December 31.
The LNP yesterday pledged$3 million to keep beachgoers safe this summer, bringing funding this year to “$6.2 million, plus $4.5 million of direct investment in local surf clubs and equipment”.
While the announcement was welcomed by SLSQ, it said the funding did not go far enough.
A spokeswoman said SLSQ received essential funding under a service agreement with Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES). The agreement ended June 30 and the Government extended it to December 31.
“While SLSQ appreciates the extension, it has placed the organisation in an untenable position with funding expiring in the middle of our patrolling season,” the spokeswoman said.
“This means we have no funding guaranteed beyond December 31 and are therefore unable to adequately plan and resource for our lifesaving season.”
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SLSQ expects a boom in beach visitation due to Queenslanders holidaying at home.
“This places greater strain on resources and volunteer lifesavers,” she said.
Volunteer patrols begin Saturday and “SLSQ needs a commitment now” in the form of a new three-year agreement.
A Queensland Government spokesman said $6.39 million was provided to SLSQ in 2019-20.
He said the agreement had been extended this year “in recognition of the impacts of COVID-19 and the flow-on delays to the negotiation process”.
He said discussions were underway to renew the agreement beyond the end of the year.
“Nothing the LNP says about funding can be trusted until they reveal how many Queenslanders they will sack to pay for their unfunded promises,” the spokesman said.
LNP leader Deb Frecklington said: “Labor is risking the lives of thousands of Queenslanders by failing to give SLSQ the certainty it needs.
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“Labor have been reckless and sneaky by only committing to funding the SLSQ to December 31, which is half way through this season.
“The volunteer organisation relies heavily on fundraising activities, which have been
hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.
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“This Queensland icon should have been able to rely on their government for
support, but they’ve been hung out to dry by Labor.”
The pledge includes $2 million to upgrade Currumbin Beach Vikings Nippers clubhouse, which is badly in need of an overhaul.
The SLSQ spokeswoman said the LNP pledge was welcomed, but SLSQ “would have liked to have seen a longer term funding commitment to enable SLSQ to plan for the future”.
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