A local daring after hours rescue at Tea Gardens has been awarded the Surf Life Saving Rescue of the Month.
Just after 5pm on March, off the clock patrol members were alerted to a female caught in a dangerous rip about 80 metres offshore.
The five members – Phillip Everett, Stuart Daniel, Carolyn Jeffries, Anthony Logue and Sharon Taylor – responded quickly heading out on the inflatable rescue boat, despite a tricky shore break and choppy conditions, fighting exhaustion themselves to rescue the woman.
The team eventually secured the patient aboard the IRB and safely returned her to shore, breathing and conscious.
Ms Jeffries says the whole team worked really well.
“We were so surprised sitting at a table upstairs in the clubhouse, but we didn’t hesitate — we stopped, looked and assessed.
“It was a natural thing to do thanks to our training. Good training facilitates good rescues,” Ms Jeffries said.
Without the efforts of the off-duty Tea Gardens Hawks Nest SLSC members, the incident could have played out very differently.
Image: Tea Gardens Surf Life Saving Club.