Off duty lifesavers
HEROES in Bronte rescue
The award-winning rescue occurred at 7.45pm on Saturday 1 February. James McLennan, who is Club Captain at Bronte Surf Life Saving Club, and his wife Kirsty were relaxing at their home at Bronte beach. The sun was going down and light was fading fast. James noticed a large group of people caught in the notorious Bronte Beach rip. They were in considerable distress and were being swept quickly out to sea. Thinking quickly, he ran to Bronte SLSC to grab a rescue board. “As I ran down, I could hear a lot of screaming and yelling coming from the beach. I could see at least six people in trouble, so I had to get a board and get straight into the water. I simply didn’t have time to call TripleZero. So, as I was running to the beach, I sent a message to our Board and Surf Skills Group on ‘WhatsApp’ requesting assistance,” James said.
A mass rescue that was described as incredible and heroic, has won lifesavers James and Kirsty McLennan a Rescue of the Month Award for saving the lives of nine people who were caught in the notorious Bronte Beach rip and swept hundreds of metres out to sea.
James grabbed a rescue board from the surf club but before diving into the water, asked two bystanders to call Triple-Zero and request Ambulance assistance. He paddled out through the rip to rescue the swimmers who were now more than 250 metres from the beach. Being a surf sports athlete and strong board paddler, he reached the group of struggling swimmers within minutes. “The conditions were pretty nasty. It was choppy and there was a lot of moving water around. There was a strong north-east wind blowing which made paddling out more difficult,” James said.
