Australian Teen Swims 2.5 Miles to Rescue Family Swept Out to Sea

A 13-year-old boy swam for hours through treacherous ocean waters off Australia’s western coast in a heroic effort that saved his mother and two younger siblings after strong currents swept them out to sea.

Austin Appelbee completed a grueling 2.5-mile swim through massive waves after removing his life jacket to move more freely, ultimately reaching shore and triggering a rescue operation that saved his family members who had drifted nearly 9 miles from the coastline.

“The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on… I just kept thinking, ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming,'” Austin recalled on Tuesday. “And then I finally made it to shore and I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed.”

The harrowing ordeal began around midday last Friday when the Appelbee family, visiting from Perth, was using rented kayaks and paddle boards near Quindalup in Western Australia. Unexpectedly strong winds and rough seas quickly dragged them far from shore. Austin initially attempted to paddle for help using an inflatable kayak but abandoned it when it started taking on water.

His mother Joanne, 47, remained in the water with her other two children—Beau, 12, and Grace, 8—all wearing life jackets and clinging to a paddleboard while Austin embarked on his solo journey to find help.

“One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was to say to Austin: ‘Try and get to shore and get some help,'” Joanne told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The gravity of her decision was amplified by the deteriorating conditions and approaching nightfall.

After Austin reached shore and alerted authorities, a search helicopter located Joanne and the two younger children around 8:30 p.m., about 9 miles from where they had started. By that time, they had spent approximately 10 hours in the increasingly cold and choppy water.

Police Inspector James Bradley praised Austin’s extraordinary courage, stating, “The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough—his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings.”

The family had attempted to maintain morale during their ordeal, singing and joking to keep spirits up. “We kept positive, we were singing and we were joking and… we were treating it as a bit of a game until the sun started to go down and that’s when it was getting very choppy. Very big waves,” Joanne recounted.

By the time rescue crews arrived, all three family members in the water were suffering from the effects of prolonged exposure. Joanne reported that Beau had lost feeling in his legs due to the cold, and all were shivering severely. Despite their ordeal, none required hospitalization following medical evaluation.

The area where the incident occurred, near Geographe Bay, is a popular tourist destination known for its beautiful beaches. However, the coastline can be deceptively dangerous when weather conditions change rapidly, as experienced visitors and local authorities frequently warn.

Water safety experts note that this incident highlights the importance of checking weather forecasts before water activities and always informing someone onshore of planned water excursions. Australia’s coastline sees dozens of similar incidents each year, though few end with such remarkable displays of courage and determination.

For Joanne Appelbee, the overwhelming emotion was gratitude that her family survived intact. “I have three babies. All three made it. That was all that mattered,” she said, reflecting on what could have been a tragic ending without her eldest son’s extraordinary effort.

The Appelbee family’s experience serves as a powerful reminder of both the ocean’s unpredictable dangers and the extraordinary resilience of a young boy who refused to give up when faced with seemingly impossible odds.