Austin Appelbee, 13, is gaining attention for his extraordinary effort to save his family during a trip to Quindalup, Western Australia. On 30/1, he, his mother Joanne Appelbee, brother Beau, 12, and sister Grace, 8, were kayaking and paddleboarding when strong winds pushed them far from shore.
His mother asked Austin to paddle the kayak back to shore for help. No one realized the kayak was severely damaged and taking on water.
"The boat started to wobble, I lost a paddle and knew I was in trouble. Then, I began paddling with my hands," Austin said on 3/2.
After the kayak filled with water and capsized, Austin recognized the danger and decided to swim while still wearing a life jacket. Two hours later, he decided to shed the life jacket, realizing it was not helping.
For the next two hours, prayers, hymns, and "positive thinking" helped Austin persevere, despite his fear. After four hours of swimming, Austin had covered 4 km in fiercely rough, shark-infested waters.
"I thought of my mother, Beau, and Grace. I also remembered my friends and my girlfriend; they are very good. When I reached the shore, I fell and wondered how I was on land, asking myself if it was a dream," Austin said.
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Joanne Appelbee with her eldest son Austin (far right) and her two younger children. *Photo: ABC News* |
But then he remembered his mother and siblings were still adrift offshore, so he struggled to stand. Around 6 p.m., after running 2 km, Austin found his mother's bag and made a distress call.
According to police, that call triggered a large-scale search operation. Appelbee, 47, and her two younger children were found at 8:30 p.m., clinging to a paddleboard and drifting about 14 km from shore.
Austin collapsed shortly after making the call and was taken to the hospital. When he called his father from the hospital, he sobbed, unsure if his mother and siblings were safe.
Minutes later, Austin received a call confirming that rescuers had found his mother and siblings. Everyone, including doctors and police, cheered with joy. "I will never forget that moment," Austin said.
Appelbee said asking her son to swim ashore for help was "one of the most difficult decisions" of her life. At that time, they had not yet been swept too far from the coast.
"I knew he was the strongest and could do it. I couldn't leave my two younger children, so I had to let Austin go," she said.
While Austin swam towards shore, Appelbee and her two younger children continued to drift further out and soon lost sight of him. The sun set, and the waves grew larger. They wore life jackets, struggling to cling to the paddleboards.
Initially, she thought Austin would quickly reach shore, but as time passed, Appelbee began to wonder if her plan would succeed.
"If he didn't make it, what had I done? Had I made a wrong decision, and would anyone come to save my two younger children?" she recalled.
The sky was pitch black, and the water was freezing. She struggled to hold her children close amid fears of the worst happening to Austin. "At that point, we only had ourselves to rely on. It was truly a nightmare," Appelbee added.
After being rescued, she could only breathe a sigh of relief when the paramedics who had taken Austin confirmed he was alive. The entire family received hospital treatment for minor injuries.
"It was a happy ending, with the children healthy, happy, a bit sore, but no one was injured," she added.
Austin has returned to school but needs crutches due to leg pain. Police and rescue forces have praised the boy's extraordinary effort.
"I don't think I'm a hero; I just did what needed to be done," the teenager said.
Austin began swimming at four years old and participated in VacSwim, water safety classes for children. Before the incident, Austin found swimming 350 m without a break "quite tiring."
By Huyen Le (Guardian, BBC)
