NZ's drowning numbers are amongst the worst in the world so what can we do to stay safe in the water? Video / NZ Herald
A former surf lifesaver and ex-police officer who was caught in a rip with his twin children has told of their dramatic rescue by strangers.
Tauranga man John Richardson says the group saved their lives at Arataki Beach on Friday.
Richardson was visiting the unpatrolled beach with friend Rebecca Sandford, his 10-year-old twins Ruby and Ethan, and Sandford's teenage daughter, Maggie.
Ryan Donald, 26, and his girlfriend, Sam, 25, helped pull the family from the water. Photo / Supplied
After noticing the twins getting into difficulty Richardson ploughed into the surf- and simultanously felt his archilles rupture.
Undeterred, he continued, now accompanied by Sandford. It wasn't long before the whole group was in trouble, with Richardson holding Ethan above the waves while Maggie helped Ruby.
"I was yelling out for help, trying to keep him up," Richardson said.
"I'm a competitive swimmer and was a surf life saver for quite a few years (but) with the injury and the adrenalin and holding my son up, I was getting pounded by the waves and not going anywhere."
Ryan Donald, 26, and girlfriend Sam, 25, saw the scene unfold and didn't stop to think of their own safety before going in with another person's boogie board to help.
Donald told the Herald Richardson appeared "absolutely exhausted" and Ethan "just terrified".
Arataki beach where the drama unfolded on Friday. Photo / File
The pair put Ethan on the board while Richardson struggled.
"I was panicking and running out of breath and not making any headway. I was trying to float on my back and kick and my son was calling out, 'Dad, don't drown; Dad, don't drown," Richardson said.
"Ryan and Ethan started to panic because they couldn't make any headway either. They were calling out for help."
Donald said it ran through his mind, "S***, I don't actually know if I'm going to be able to make it back in here".
"If we didn't have that boogie board there it could have been a whole different story."
A woman wearing a blue swimsuit came aside Richardson and began encouraging him.
"This lady just swam by me and said, 'You're going to make it, you're going to make it.' I could see it wasn't easy for her (but) we just kept going,'" Richardson said.
Eventually the whole group made it back and a call was put to emergency services and a nearby surf life saving club.
An off-duty lifeguard came to help with a rescue boat. It was immediately dispatched back into the water after another family also got into trouble.
Donald and his girlfriend left the scene almost immediately after reaching the shore, as Donald began having an asthma attack and needed to find an inhaler.
They didn't have time to speak to the family they helped.
John Richardson with his 10-year-old twins, Ruby and Ethan, who were saved from drowning by strangers at Papamoa. Photo / Supplied
The incident has been running through his mind since Friday.
"You just keeping thinking hypotheticals. What if I didn't jump in at that point? The guy was exhausted, I don't know how much longer he would have had with that kid. What if we didn't get back in?"
There were many people on the beach, but Donald wanted to give them "the benefit of the doubt" for not helping.
"On the beach it didn't look as bad as when you were in there."
He urged others who noticed someone in trouble to do something, even if they didn't feel they could actually swim over and help. Calling for help immediately or providing floatation devices was a good option, he said.
Richardson said that as he sat on the beach after the ordeal, he burst into tears, realising he and his children had nearly died. He didn't have a chance to thank the mystery woman who saved him.
"The way it unfolded, it was just crazy, and it was just fantastic, the public. The New Zealand Government has to fund New Zealand life saving in some way because New Zealand is a country where everybody goes to the beach, and everybody swims," he said.
In November, Surf Life Saving Northern Region, which cover clubs in Auckland, Northland and the Waikato, said more people would drown if the Government didn't start funding life saving services.
But Surf Life Saving New Zealand, who run clubs in the rest of the country, said Crown funding would change its volunteer culture.
Currently surf life saving is funded by donations, and council funding.
Surf Life Saving Northern Region chief executive Matt Williams said he had a "hugely emotional reaction" when reading about what Richardson went through.
"It very much paints a picture that no matter who you are and what skills you have, the ocean can still be dangerous."
Williams said he "absolutely agrees" with Richardson's message about more funding being needed.
"Every summer is bigger than the last and they keep getting busier. We're doing well, we're educating the public, but we've got to keep up – we're on that treadmill and we have to keep growing with the demand and that means we need to have access to long-term funding."
