This morning, a Surf Life Saving NSW Emergency Rescue Beacon (ERB) had managed to alert first responders to a man who had been washed off rocks at Fingal Head on the Far North Coast. The fisherman was caught off the rocks at Dreamtime Beach in challenging surf conditions by lifeguards from the Australian Lifeguard Service aboard a jet ski.
The incident happened around 8:30 am on Sunday when police told Surf Life Saving that the rock fisherman was in the water, fully clothed with no life jacket. Officers from the Far North Coast Branch and the lifeguards at Kingscliff were activated.
The man was swept south around the headland, and just before 9:00 am, a surfer activated the ERB at Dreamtime Beach and spoke to the operator at the SLSNSW State Operations Center to tell them he could see the man in the water.
Soon after, lifeguards Ty McCartney and Cody Bell arrived on a jet ski and were led by police and the public on the headland to the man’s location in the water.
“It took us about 10 minutes to get there from Kingscliff,” Ty said. “We had just arrived for work and had turned on the radios when we heard the job was underway.
“For starters, I couldn’t see where he was and tried to steer the ski with one hand and with the other hand hold the Angel Ring the police boat had given me.”
After locating the man, Ty had to wait several minutes before taking a break in the four-foot surf to get to the man. “He was constantly washing up on the rocks and getting pushed back down. I just had to time it right. Finally, he was far enough from the rocks that I could get in and grab him. I have been luckier than anything.”
The rock fisherman had been in the water for at least 30 minutes by then, still clinging to his rod.
“The second I went in, I grabbed him, and he got on the back of the sled. However, his rod broke when we pulled him up. The man was transported to the hospital. He was exhausted and had inhaled some water, but he was fine.”
Ty thanked the nearby local surfers and kept the man in the water until help arrived.
The ERB was installed on the unpatrolled Dreamtime Beach after numerous incidents involving swimmers and rock fishermen in the Fingal Head area in recent years. The beacon connects a public member directly to an emergency’s SLSNSW State Operations Center. It has a camera to help the operator see what is happening on site.
Sunday, May 29, 2022