A father found himself preparing to sacrifice his life to save his daughter’s, after 30 freezing minutes in high swells off Western Australia’s north-west coast at the weekend.
Perth boatie, 41-year-old Av Mason, and children Laila, 13, and Evander, 16, are lucky to have each other after a rogue wave capsized their new $170,000 boat on Sunday.
Evander, Av and Laila Mason look out to the ocean that so nearly took all their lives.Credit: Av Mason
The family from the outer suburb of Ellenbrook were spending a week together in Shark Bay, on the westernmost point of the continent, celebrating their wife and mother Carla’s successful battle with a brain tumour.
On the final morning of their holiday, the family decided to take one last trip out on the boat after some local divers offered to show them a new fishing spot.
Carla and Av’s other son Tyson, 22, stayed behind on shore.
The trio arrived at Turtle Bay off Dirk Hartog Island – life jackets on the boat but not worn – while a second group in another boat headed off to go diving nearby.
“It was choppy, but everything was pretty safe and then my daughter screamed, ‘Dad, look over there’,” Av said.
“I looked beside me, and this f---ing monster wave – maybe five metres high – was on the side of us, about to crash.”
With little time to manoeuvre, the wave caught and lifted the back of the boat, flipping it back over front.
Evander was thrown clear while Av and Laila were trapped in the submerged upside-down cabin.
“At that stage I realised: we’re probably about to die,” Av said.
The Mason family’s new boat the day before it sank.Credit: Av Mason
Somehow the pair managed to get free from the upside-down and sinking boat, only to be pummelled by another monster wave.
“I told Laila to take a big, deep breath,” Av said.
“We got thrown all over the place, and I was just trying to hold on to her through the other waves that were forming.
“I told her, just use my body to push me under, to keep herself up, and just to keep buoyant.
“Somehow we let go of each other, we parted, and she floated away from me.
“She was screaming at me to swim, and I thought I was moving, but she said [later] I was lifeless at that point.”
Av remembers seeing the other boat of fishers come to their aid almost 30 minutes after their boat capsized. He saw someone pluck Laila from the water before he succumbed to unconsciousness.
“I saw the boat come, and I thought, ‘The kids are safe, they’ve grabbed the kids’,” he said.
“I remember just stopping and realising, ‘Just let go, it’s over’, and I accepted it.”
By the time rescuers reached him, Av was sinking below the surface.
When rescuers pulled him onto their boat, they thought he was dead.
They raced towards the nearest town of Denham, meeting Shark Bay Volunteer Marine Rescue staff en route, who administered first aid for hypothermia and shock.
Simon Miller, a Department of Fire and Emergency Services Mid West-Gascoyne region officer, said the deep waters west of the island mixed with the incoming/outgoing tide of Shark Bay could make for “washing machine-like” conditions.
“Turtle Bay is the northern end of the island where the swell comes from the southwest and the west and wraps around the island,” Miller said.
The family spent the week fishing before disaster struck.Credit: Av Mason
“Anytime you get really deep water coming into shallow water, the effects of the swell can become erratic and unpredictable.
“They were very lucky in this regard and thankfully the passerby vessel that was in that general area, could hit the EPIRB [distress beacon] and render their assistance until marine rescue got there.”
He said a person’s chances of survival significantly increased when they wore a life jacket.
“It also allows you to maintain your body temperature,” he said.
“If you’re trying to keep yourself afloat and stay above the water, what you’re doing is you’re using all your energy and tiring yourself out, which then actually brings on hypothermia a lot quicker.”
Mason said more education around swell and tidal conditions that create freak waves could save more lives.
“It’s one of those things boaties should know,” he said.
“My insurer told me the same thing happens off Rottnest [Island] all the time, where boats get flipped out there for the same reason.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.