"Austin and his family were on holiday in Quindalup, 200km (124 miles) south of Perth, when strong winds pushed their inflatable paddleboards and kayak offshore from Geographe Bay on Friday afternoon. His mother, Joanne Appelbee, told him to swim ashore to seek help, telling the ABC: I knew he was the strongest and he could do it. Initially setting off in a kayak, Austin had to abandon the vessel after it took on too much water in the rough conditions."
"About two hours into his four-hour swim, he ditched the lifejacket he was wearing. I was very puffed out but I couldn't feel how tired I was, he said. I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do survival backstroke. Once he had swum the 4km (2.49 miles) to shore in fading light, the teenager ran 2km (1.24 miles) to his family's accommodation, using his mother's phone to call emergency services at around 6pm."
"I said, I need helicopters, I need planes, I need boats, my family's out at sea.' I was very calm about it. I think it was just a lot of shock. After the call, he passed out from exhaustion and was taken to the hospital. His family was rescued floating about 14km (8.7 miles) offshore. Austin was given crutches to help his sore legs bear his weight, the ABC reported."
Austin swam 4km to shore after his family's inflatable paddleboards and kayak were pushed offshore by strong winds near Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. He abandoned a waterlogged kayak and removed his lifejacket while continuing breaststroke, freestyle and survival backstroke. After reaching shore he ran 2km to the family's accommodation and used his mother's phone to call emergency services, requesting helicopters, planes and boats. He passed out from exhaustion and was taken to hospital and later required crutches for sore legs. His family were rescued floating about 14km offshore, and experts noted fight-or-flight responses can enable people to exceed perceived limits.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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