Kayakers' romantic date ends in midnight salvation

By PATRICK GOWER and MATHEW DEARNALEY

A first date was rescued from near disaster when two policemen leaped from a helicopter and saved a couple struggling to stay afloat after over four hours lost at sea.

The couple were kayaking home from an Anzac Day date on Rangitoto Island when the 22-year-old woman was tipped out by the wake of a passing ferry.

Her date jumped from his kayak to support her, and the pair began swimming the 3km towards the Auckland city shoreline in the moonless night, rather than back towards Rangitoto.

"She wanted to go towards the lights because they gave her hope," her 34-year-old date, who did not want to be named, told the Herald yesterday.

Both wearing lifejackets, they began their swim about 7.45pm, trying not to think of sharks or of being hit by the black silhouettes of boats cruising past them without noticing the SOS flash of the small torch the man held.

It was about midnight by the time they got close enough to shore to yell out, but the woman was beginning to lose consciousness and starting to struggle.

"If it had been another quarter of an hour, it really could have been the end," said the man.

But a woman on the St Heliers shoreline had heard their cries and called the police.

Three police constables had stripped to their underwear on the "sandpit"-sized beach at Ladies Bay and were preparing to swim the 500m to them when the Eagle helicopter - which does not have a winch - offered to drop them out.

Constables Greg Fallon and Omar Suleiman were flown out and told to jump from about 25m above the couple, but asked the pilot to take them lower, and they eventually jumped from about 10m.

"I wasn't sure if the water was deep enough," said Mr Fallon, an experienced surf lifesaver.

"I was pretty stoked it was deep enough, just quietly."

When they reached the couple, Mr Suleiman said the woman was "frothing at the mouth, her eyes rolling and mouth gurgling".

The constables handed the couple extra flotation devices and stayed with them until an inflatable rescue boat arrived.

Once on shore, the woman, with hypothermia and a body temperature of just 25C, was taken to hospital, where she was initially reported to be seriously ill, but had recovered well by last night. The man was exhausted and in shock, but unharmed.

The rescuers were cheered by a crowd of about 50 people who had gathered to watch the drama.

The thankful man met his police rescuers yesterday when he picked up one of the kayaks that had been recovered.

They were critical of onlookers, including three Asian fishermen who had heard their cries for help but not acted on them.

The couple, both committed Christians, had met at church the week before and were praying aloud together in the sea.

"We were praying our little hearts out," the man said.

"We were asking God to send us a helicopter or a boat, something to keep us safe.

"In the end we got both."

The two rescuers saved their praise for the team effort of police involved, especially that of fellow Constable Natasha Bryce, who had been the first to strip off for the swim but missed out on the helicopter trip because there was not enough room.

She had been the one who spotted the man's torch, but was left in her underwear on shore with the onlookers - including many of her male colleagues, said Mr Fallon.

"It was a pretty gutsy effort in front of all the boys."

What is hypothermia


* Hypothermia, also known as exposure, is a general lowering of central body temperature. If not stopped, it will quickly cause death.

* Symptoms include weariness and reluctance to move, a false feeling of wellbeing, clumsiness and loss of judgment, collapse and loss of consciousness.

* The period between first symptoms to unconsciousness may be as short as 30 minutes.

* St John Ambulance watch manager Bruce MacDonald said a person's core body temperature only had to drop less than two degrees before he or she was in serious trouble.

* His best advice for people in the water was to huddle together to preserve body warmth. They should avoid excessive movement (which would lead to energy loss) but move enough to stop muscles cramping.