Two exhausted paddleboarders have been dramatically rescued after a Christmas Day outing turned into a near-tragedy, with emergency services praising their survival as miraculous. The pair, who were not wearing lifejackets, drifted more than 10 kilometres into open water off the coast of Victoria before a complex search operation located them.
A Carefree Afternoon Turns Perilous
The incident began around 3pm on 25 December when the 51-year-old woman and her 17-year-old stepson launched their paddleboards from the jetty at Portarlington caravan park, west of Geelong. According to reports, conditions on the water deteriorated rapidly, and the duo were soon swept out into the bay.
After they failed to return by 5pm, a concerned family member raised the alarm, triggering a major multi-agency search. Local police, aerial units, lifesavers, and a coastguard team all scoured the waters. The pair were finally spotted by a rescue helicopter, with Victoria Police footage capturing the moment they were approached as they lay flat on their boards, waving for help.
Three-Hour Ordeal Ends in Dramatic Rescue
The paddleboarders had been afloat for approximately three hours before being pulled from the water at Wyndham Harbour. Water Police Acting Senior Sergeant Michael Quirk stated the "really intricate, good technology" on the advanced helicopters was crucial in tracking them down.
He emphasised the grave danger they faced, noting they would "almost certainly" have died if they had drifted away from their paddleboards while stranded at sea. The woman and teenager were described as "extremely relieved" when rescuers finally reached them. "There's no doubt their lives were saved during this incident," Mr Quirk said.
A Grateful Family and a Busy Christmas for Rescuers
In a statement released on Friday, the family expressed profound gratitude while grappling with the shock of the event. "We are so grateful for the outcome but still trying to come to terms with how quickly a beautiful, carefree afternoon turned into an almost tragedy," they said.
The statement continued: "We are exhausted, very shaken and feel so lucky we were able to stay together. We commend the efforts of all the agencies involved. The decisive and quick action led not only to our rescue, but our survival."
This was one of several water-related incidents emergency crews responded to over the Christmas period. In a separate event, a mother and her two teenage daughters were winched to safety by a rescue helicopter after getting into difficulty while kayaking near Corinella jetty, southeast of Melbourne. Fortunately, all three were wearing lifejackets and were unharmed.
Life Saving Victoria used the incidents to issue a stark reminder: "Kayaking and paddleboarding require constant awareness and good decision-making. Conditions can change quickly." In a third rescue on Christmas Day, a 41-year-old man was located safe after his kayak rolled on Lake King in Paynesville.
