'It was sheer luck': Surfer helps rescue family from rip at Auckland's Piha beach
Monday, 7 March 2022
A surfer at one of Auckland’s west coast beaches helped to rescue a family who got into trouble in the water.
Shortly after 7.30pm on Sunday, the Piha Surf Life Saving search and rescue squad was alerted by police to a child in distress off Piha’s Lion Rock.
A spokesman for Northern region surf lifesaving said volunteers responded to the incident immediately from their homes and three lifeguards swam into the water with rescue tubes.
But by this time, the children and their father were already back on the shore, with the help of surfer and Piha local Nick Brown-Haysom.
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Brown-Haysom said he had been out surfing at North Piha and watching the sunset when he noticed a swimmer floating on his back nearby.
“I was pretty much by myself at that point because it was pretty late in the day, and just out of the corner of my eye I saw this man.
“He saw me and yelled out for help, so I paddled over to where he was.”
Brown-Haysom said the man was terrified and obviously exhausted and was stuck in a rip which was taking him out to sea.
“He mentioned he didn’t know where his daughter was, so I took him to shore and then planned to go back out and look for her, but luckily the children were already back on shore.”
Lifeguards and members of the public took the family back to the surf club for first aid until emergency services could arrive.
“They were shaken and exhausted, but relieved to be okay,” Brown-Haysom said.
The Auckland Westpac rescue helicopter and St John paramedics assessed the children and both them and their parents were taken to hospital, the spokesman said.
A St John spokeswoman confirmed paramedics had also gone to the beach. She said three people were in a moderate condition, while the fourth only had minor injuries. They all went to Auckland City Hospital.
Brown-Haysom said the rescue had just been “pure luck” that he was in the right place at the right time to help.
“He was a lucky man, there was hardly anyone around, but he just so happened to float past me. I’m just stoked they’re alright.”
Over the years Brown-Haysom said he’d seen people get into trouble in the sea many times, and that most regular surfers at the beach had at some point.
This wasn’t the only incident that happened at Piha over the weekend.
On Saturday police received a report of a person falling off the rocks into the sea at the beach. This person was also rescued by a surfer before lifeguards arrived.
Earlier on Sunday, a dad and his two children swam out through a cave to an exposed beach to fish.
The Northern region surf lifesaving spokesman said when the family reached the exposed side, they were hit by large surging waves.
“Whilst holding onto his spear gun the father attempted to assist his children to hold onto a boogie board. The surging waves were knocking the children off the board and near the rocks.”
A United North Piha Lifeguard who was patrolling the area saw the family in distress and was able to rescue them and return them to safety.