Surf lifesavers say if it wasn’t for the fitness and skill of AFL Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield, a Sunday swim for a Victorian family may have ended in tragedy.
The Cats star was playing with his children on the beach of Moggs Creek, on Victoria’s Surf Coast, when he noticed an 11-year-old girl and her parents being swept out to sea in a rip off the Great Ocean Road, just before midday.
Witnesses said the 31-year-old midfielder grabbed his surfboard and paddled 400 metres out through challenging surf where he held the three afloat while rescue crews were dispatched to the area.
“We’re very lucky we had someone as selfless, as fit and as courageous as Paddy out there because this could’ve ended up very, very differently,” Lifesaving Victoria general manager Liam Krige said.
Lifesaver Sam Ord was working out of the Fairhaven Surf Lifesaving Club on Sunday when they received a distress call alerting them to three people who were in trouble in waters off Moggs Creek, about one kilometre west of their base.
Mr Ord said he and another surf lifesaver headed out on jet skis, followed closely behind by volunteers members and the Westpac helicopter, and arrived to find Dangerfield – a Brownlow medallist – holding the family afloat on his board.
Vision from a rescue helicopter shows Dangerfield saving an 11-year-old girl in the surf at Mogg’s Creek. Credit:Life Saving Victoria
Mr Ord, who’s been a lifesaver for eight years, said there were large swells in the area at the time.
“When we arrived … Paddy was there and the little girl was on his surfboard. He was very attentive and seemed to be in good fitness, helping and coordinating the family and talking them through it,” he recalled.
“The two adults were quite fatigued and in distress as they realised the severity of the situation they’d found themselves in. The girl, she was shaken and shocked as well.
“While we don’t advise the public to do what he did, Paddy is a local who knows the area and knows his capabilities. It definitely wasn’t a rip current you want to be in.”
Speaking outside the Cats training session at Geelong on Monday morning, Dangerfield, who is a Moggs Creek local and keen surfer, told Nine News he was on the beach with his family when he noticed the three people struggling out to sea.
He said he stayed with the trio for about 15 to 20 minutes before help arrived, labelling the ocean a “powerful beast”.
“Luckily the family is all OK, that’s the most important thing,” he said.
Fairhaven Surf Lifesaving Club president Nancy Joseph said community was everything in the area, and Dangerfield’s quick thinking showed just how important that could be.
Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield speaks to the media before training after he helped to rescue an 11-year-old girl from the surf and helped keep the family afloat on Sunday.Credit:Nine News
“We’re extremely grateful to both Patrick and the surfing community that do assist us.”
Ms Joseph said summer this year had presented lifesavers with challenging beach conditions as Queensland’s recent cyclone pushed easterly winds towards the Surf Coast, resulting in a rise in rips and undercurrents. She said flash rips were a concern and could appear suddenly.
“And when there’s an undercurrent, people get pulled down the beach quite quickly.”
In the first few days of 2022, three people drowned in Victoria – including one man at Princetown on the Great Ocean Road – prompting warnings about the dangers of unmanned waterways.
Data shows 26 people drowned in rips each year across the country. Lifesaving Victoria urges swimmers to swim at patrolled beaches, between the red and yellow flags.
An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said two people were assessed at the scene on Sunday but did not require hospital treatment.
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