Brave pair risk all to save lives at sea

Doug King (left) and Ricky Curtin raced into the water when three teenagers were swept out to sea at Bethells Beach. Picture / Richard Robinson

Aaron Khan was tired after swimming with friends in the surf and was about to head for the shore when he realised he was going out to sea.

"I was caught in a rip. I could not touch the bottom. I tried to swim in, tried to swim to the side out of the rip ... but I had to stay with the girls."

The 18-year-old and two fellow Waitakere students, Hayley McDonald and April Xu Holland, continued to be carried, helplessly, out to sea that afternoon last month off Bethells Beach.

Recalling his ordeal, Mr Khan said it was the biggest surf he had been in on Auckland's west coast.

Only about 30 people were on the beach and it was not patrolled by surf lifesavers.

"I was so tired and was telling myself 'stay calm and you'll get out of this' but April and Hayley were freaking."

The trio were being battered by breaking waves when Doug King reached them.

Mr King, a wood carver and part-time pool attendant at the Westwave Aquatic Centre in Henderson, was at the beach with his family when a group of people at the water's edge became anxious about the trio's struggles.

He swam out to ask if they needed help and they told him to help April and they would keep trying to get in themselves.

"So I brought her in," said Mr King. "But back on the beach I couldn't find her two friends.

"They were about 150m out so I took boogie boards and swam out to the rip.

"As I went out a surfer grabbed the girl so it left the guy out there. He was pleased to see me.

"He had cramped up in the leg and couldn't paddle.

"I gave him the board and we faced towards the land.

"We didn't sort of have a plan. We just focused on land ... aimed for a house on the hill."

Mr King said he was exhausted during the 45-minute struggle in which they were knocked over time and time again by waves and swept back.

"I heard my name being yelled out behind me in the middle of nowhere. It was Ricky. It was a big relief.

"He had flippers on and we made some progress pushing the board with the guy on."

Mr King's welcome helper was Ricky Curtin, another Westwave pool lifeguard, who had arrived at the beach for a day off and was told of the trouble.

"I went out to help. The rip was stronger than usual and in the big swells I could just see two heads," said Mr Curtin.

Mr Khan said he would have drowned on February 9 but for the actions of Mr King, 37, and Mr Curtin, 29.

Mr Khan is studying for a property degree at Auckland University and his two friends are at Otago University.

Tomorrow Mr King and Mr Curtin are to receive a bravery citation from the Waitakere City Council.

Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey, a veteran lifeguard, said it was "an extreme act of bravery" and the men's training and experience at Westwave had been a big help.

Both men have two young children. Mr King said there were times during the rescue when he thought of them and whether he would see them again.

He said he regretted that the unknown surfer, who left as soon as he brought Miss McDonald in, was not sharing in the citation ceremony.