Following a daring rescue in the dark at Bethells Beach last Friday in which a teenager was rescued from certain death, another rescue at the west Auckland beach of Piha Monday has caused Surf Life Saving New Zealand (SLSNZ) to issue a stark reminder as schools and universities break up for summer and people begin heading to the beach in greater numbers.

The message, says Surf Life Saving New Zealand CEO Steve Fisher, is: “People drown at unpatrolled beaches. Don’t overestimate your abilities, and don’t underestimate the conditions. Please swim between the flags at a patrolled beach. If the flags aren’t up, don’t go in.”

At Piha yesterday, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time for Sam Johns and Iolo John, two surf lifeguards on exchange from Wales. Currently staying at the Piha Surf Life Saving Club, the two had planned some training in an Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB), with another surf lifeguard, Harry Chick, staying on the beach to take some photographs.

Following protocol, they placed a radio call through to SurfCom to provide an overview of their planned activities.

As they commenced their training, they saw a party of three people on boogie boards, part of a larger group congregated on the beach. There few people in the water due to the poor surf conditions, and the three young men had positioned themselves in a hole in the middle of the beach, a deeper area of the shore bed.

“It’s like a washing machine there. There’s a lot of water moving about but not much current – so people can get stuck there. It’s the most dangerous part of the beach at the moment – it’s really difficult to get out if you get stuck in a hole like that,” says Sam Johns.

The surf lifeguards travelled over to the young men, to check in and offer their assistance in getting them to safety. Not realising the dangerous situation they were in, the men refused the offer.

Johns and John determined to keep a close eye on them regardless – the men were in a dangerous position, were clearly lacking in water confidence conditions, and were not wearing fins.

Moments later, as the surf lifeguards performed their practice drills, a large set wave pounded through, sweeping the young men off their boogie boards and into the water. Panic set in. Without their floatation devices, the men realised their predicament and began shouting and wildly waving their arms in the air.

The surf lifeguards saw their distress and raced over while two of the men desperately tried to keep their heads above the water. The third man had managed to make his way into shore.

“It shows just how quickly your circumstances can change,” says Sam Johns.

“Their heads were going under with each wave that came through, they were swallowing water, and they were just exhausted. By the time we reached them, they were ‘climbing the ladder’ trying to stay buoyant, so we knew they were in serious trouble. It was a pretty gnarly situation.”

The first person was picked up right in the wave impact zone, with Iolo John managing to pull him aboard right as the IRB dramatically punched through a wave.

The second patient was slightly further out, and the surf lifeguards dragged him in before turning and heading back to shore at full throttle, as they radioed the rescue through to SurfCom and an ambulance was dispatched.

All three men had swallowed a lot of water and had low oxygen saturation, with the two rescued men going in and out of consciousness. The team were joined by fellow Piha surf lifeguard and Powercraft Officer Paul Newnham and performed first aid as local first responders arrived.

The men were transferred to hospital by ambulance with crackly lungs – a potential symptom of aspiration.

Surf beaches pose the greatest risk for beach and coastal fatal drowning in New Zealand, says Steve Fisher, with 38% of all fatal drownings between 2013-2023 occurring at surf beaches.

“Rip currents and holes are some of the greatest hazards at a surf beach. Research suggests that although about 48% of people are confident they can identify a rip current, only about a third of people can identify a rip using a photograph. That number is even lower when people are actually tested on a beach in a real-life situation.”

“People consistently underestimate the conditions, and overestimate their abilities. The rescue at Piha yesterday shows just how quickly conditions and circumstances can change. Thankfully Sam and Iolo picked the right moment to train, because without them in the right place at the right time, we’d have been searching for two bodies in the water.

“It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Each fatal drowning in New Zealand leaves families, whānau, and communities devastated. We all have a responsibility to address our drowning toll, and the best way to do that is by making sensible decisions when it comes to our coastlines.”