In a mass rescue that has been described as incredible and heroic, off-duty surf lifesaver James McClennan, from Bronte Surf Life Saving Club in Sydney, saved the lives of nine people who were caught in the notorious Bronte Beach rip and swept hundreds of metres out to sea.
It was 7.45pm in the evening on Saturday 1 February and James McClennan, who is Club Captain at Bronte Surf 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 Surf Club 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 000. 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.
James grabbed a rescue board from the Bronte Surf Club but before diving into the water, asked two bystanders to call 000 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.
James’ wife Kirsty, who had followed James to the beach, also grabbed a rescue board from the club and dived into the rip. So did several other off-duty surf lifesavers and an off-duty Waverly Council lifeguard who had seen James’ request for assistance via the ‘WhatsApp’ message. They arrived a short time later to assist.
On call Duty officer Matt Evans arrived at Bronte Beach 15 minutes after being tasked by Police. He quickly realised the scale of the incident and requested the Toll Ambulance Rescue Helicopter attend to assist with the search and rescue in the fading light. He also confirmed that NSW Ambulance paramedics were on the way to assist.
After James reached the swimmers caught in the rip, he realised there were actually nine people in the group – not the six he first thought. He began coordinating Kirsty and the other lifesavers to return the swimmers, one at a time, to the beach.
“One guy was in a particularly bad way. He had ingested a lot of water and was drifting in and out of consciousness. He was frothing at the mouth and I had to clear his airway several times while I was paddling him back to the beach on my board,” James said.
The 20-year-old man was returned to the beach and given first-aid oxygen treatment by James and a team of Bronte lifesavers. NSW Ambulance paramedics arrived a short time later and he was taken to hospital for observation. Another man was treated for shock at the scene.
All nine of the swimmers that were rescued from the rip by surf lifesavers were brought back safely to Bronte beach for assessment and treatment.
Matt Spooner, Support Operations Manager, Sydney Branch, at Surf Life Saving NSW said that James McClennan’s rescue was heroic.
“It was the most incredible rescue I’ve ever heard of. It was full-on heroic. James’ efforts that day saved the lives of nine people – without doubt,” said Matt Spooner.
“Those guys are just so lucky James was on the beach that night. He deserves a bravery award,” he said.
Matt Spooner said the rescue was incredibly well coordinated between the multiple emergency service organisations that responded. He also said that the rescue highlighted the dangers of swimming outside patrol hours and at night.
Since July 1 2019, there have been 25 drowning incidents on the NSW coastline. Twelve of these have occurred over the summer period (since December 1 2019).
- Always swim at a patrolled beach, between the red and yellow flags
- Obey the safety signs at the beach
- Learn how to identify a rip current and look for rip currents before deciding where to swim
- If you’re not sure, ask a lifesaver or lifeguard about the beach conditions
- Wear a lifejacket while boating, rock fishing or paddling
- Don’t go into or on the ocean during severe weather warnings
- Take personal responsibility, think twice and assess your safety before entering the water
- Supervise children at all times in, on and around water.
For the latest safety information – including patrolled beach locations – visit beachsafe.org.au
