Joanne Appelbee has described asking her 13-year-old son Austin to swim for four hours through dangerous waters to get help after her family was swept out to sea off Western Australia as 'one of the hardest decisions' she has ever made. The family were on holiday in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth, when strong winds pushed their inflatable paddleboards and kayak offshore from Geographe Bay on Friday afternoon.
Speaking to the BBC, Joanne said the situation escalated rapidly while she was playing in the water with Austin and his younger siblings Beau, 12, and Grace, 8. 'The wind picked up and it went from there,' she said. 'We lost oars, and we drifted out further ... It kind of all went wrong very, very quickly.'
Austin swam for the shore, reaching land after four hours. He rang emergency services at about 6pm local time, saying: 'I need helicopters, I need planes, I need boats, my family's out at sea.' After the call, he passed out from exhaustion and was taken to hospital. Meanwhile, Joanne and the children drifted further out, struggling to hold on to the boards in the dark and freezing cold.
The search party found the family drifting about 14km offshore, clinging to a paddleboard. Joanne was desperately trying to reach the children after they were flipped off by a large wave. Minutes after calling his father, Austin received news that they had been found. Joanne said she could only relax when the same ambulance worker who picked up Austin confirmed he had survived.
Police inspector James Bradley praised Austin's actions, saying: 'The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough. His determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings.' Austin, who started swimming lessons at age four, said: 'I didn't think I was a hero, I just did what I did.'
