OSHER GUNSBERG: On Bondi Rescue...
..an entire family caught in a rip.
Everyone was frantic.
Yeah, when you're ready!
Then a man falls from the cliffs.
We want to get to this person as quick as possible.
And on the other side of the world, Whippet's greatest challenge.
You're just a tiny speck in the ocean.
It was a real possibility that I wouldn't make it.
# Take me back to the sweet times
# The hot nights
# Everything's gonna be alright
# In the summertime
# Baby, in the summertime
# That is where I'll be. #
Lifeguards and volunteer lifesavers have been patrolling Bondi
for more than 100 years.
In days gone by,
the belt and reel was the most effective lifesaving device.
Surf boats played a part, but were slow to launch
and hard to handle.
But one innovation has transformed surf rescue more than any other.
The importance and the value a jet ski makes to our team
is second to none.
Once that's in the water, it's like you have an extra three lifeguards.
Jet skis can go as fast as 100 kilometres an hour
and travel long distances,
with an added sled that can rescue multiple patients.
Alright, jump off, boys!
But weighing in at half a ton, a jet ski is not to be messed with.
On a bleak day at Bondi, the beach is empty.
For lifeguards,
it's the perfect opportunity for a training session.
Tommy was a lifeguard 20 years ago
and only recently joined the Bondi team,
but he's never used a jet ski in the surf.
These days, the jet skis are just so much more powerful,
manoeuvrable.
I need to learn pretty fast.
Tommy's instructor is more than 30 years younger.
Chase has been riding jet skis since he was a teenager.
Tommy is very skilled at what he does.
He's an ocean paddler and professional at it.
He hasn't done much time on a jet ski, though,
which is a lot different.
It's very foreign to him.
So for him to go out there today in these conditions,
it's a learning curve.
The Golden Rule on the jet ski, number one,
you just never stand up when you're punching through waves.
Strike one.
Number two, never approach a wave at an angle,
You'll fall off and roll.
Strike two.
And number three, never get something stuck up the impeller,
which is inside the jet ski
just because it will lock up the whole engine
and you won't be able to drive it anymore.
Jet skis and seaweed just do not mix.
Tommy drives straight through a patch of seaweed.
The engine stalls.
Strike three.
So I hit the waves and come down and landed on my neck on the...
..on the handlebars.
Tommy's training session has done more than damage his pride.
I can't talk properly.
'Cause I... (TALKS CROAKILY)
Are you alright? Yeah.
(ALL LAUGH)
Yeah, look, it's funny now, but at the time, obviously, it hurt
because I, you know, face planted the ski.
CHASE: Yeah. Definitely feel for the old boy.
He tried his hardest, and that's all you can do.
Gotta put in the time and learn how to roll
and roll back over a few times before you get it.
Picture perfect Bondi.
The crowds are back.
Hop on the back!
Glick patrols the reefs with the jet ski.
So, it was, like, the perfect beach day.
The waves are up, the water's warm.
But that being said, you can't let your guard down ever.
Big wave just came out of nowhere and I timed it really badly and...
Ohh, Glick! Oh, no!
..before I knew it, it just flipped.
I tumbled under a wave. It was a pretty big wave.
A capsized jet ski is a serious safety hazard
to lifeguards and swimmers.
It's a really heavy piece of machinery.
Yeah. All good.
When I popped up, like, I didn't actually realise what happened,
so I was very fortunate.
It could have just knocked me out.
I could have had a lot worse bruises,
but the only bruise was my ego that day.
Ready? Yep.
One, two, three. Go.
So, gotta get back up on the ski and give it another crack.
I think his pride's a little bit burnt, but he's alright, mate.
It happens.
I've rolled it a few times. Yeah, just one of those things.
First priority is making sure Glick was alright,
which he was, and just helping roll the ski.
Scary. I got caught out.
Could have been bad.
You smashed it, though, bro. It happens.
I'm just glad you're OK, mate.
I love you, mate.
I come runnin', bro.
I don't know how you got there so quick!
Every summer it happens,
but I didn't think this would happen to me.
It's a little bit embarrassing, but it is what it is.
Alright. I'm gonna go change.
Tick that one off the list.
Towards the end of shift, lifeguards start to pack up the jet ski.
But conditions are treacherous at south corner
and the beach is still busy.
The whole day, we've been trying to keep people
out of the south corner.
That's the worst spot on the beach.
The rip's really close to shore.
It looks beautiful, but little so you know,
once you tread off that edge, you're gone.
Both look back down that corner
and we just see this family walking into the rip.
Yeah.
As we were approaching, we could just see several heads
bobbing out to sea.
We're both gonna have to go in here.
I think we're both gonna go.
The family of four has been swept 50 metres from shore.
Conditions are rough.
It's like a washing machine out there.
Everyone was frantic. I was like, "Shit."
OSHER: Joel and Jackson race to save a family of four
caught in a churning rip at south corner.
It's a perfect rescue scenario for the jet ski,
but it's just been towed away at pack up.
As I'm paddling out,
I'm trying to prioritise who I'm gonna pick up.
I can see two people holding onto a surfer,
but I can also see an older gentleman further out,
and I just know I've gotta get to him first.
There were two women to the right of me
who were clinging onto a surfer for dear life.
The man in front of me was definitely my priority.
He was going under.
Jump on, bud.
We need more help here.
Joel's patient has just been rescued by a surfer.
This older gentleman out the back is looking a bit distressed.
I can see the fear in his eyes.
I can see he's the one struggling the most.
He couldn't swim well at all.
No, buddy. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
He's really struggling to get on the board,
but I know time's everything
'cause we're just drifting further and further out to sea.
We're just gonna get hit by more waves.
It's going to become a harder and more dangerous situation.
You need to face forward.
By this time, it's a bit of a struggle.
I've got two people on my board, with not the best balance,
so there's a bit of panic going on.
With four rescue victims, lifeguards are outnumbered.
The jet ski is back in action, but Lachie is 500 metres away.
At this point, pretty full-on situation, what we've got here.
There's waves, there's people everywhere.
Jackson's got his hands full.
We need Lachie on that jet ski right now.
Come on, mate. Buddy, you need to get up there.
Paddling multiple patients against the rip
is close to impossible.
Finally, the jet ski backs up.
That's it, mate. That's it.
When Lachie arrives on the jet ski, it's just a total relief.
It's a full game changer.
You OK?
The family of four are all on holiday.
Andreas and his wife live in Tasmania.
The mother and father are visiting from Canada.
That was a pretty hectic rescue.
And, like, today, if we didn't have that jet ski,
would have put so much more stress on that situation.
Whole family would have just gone.
We did our best.
We got 'em back to shore and job well done.
Smaller crowds and gentle conditions reduce the likelihood of rescues,
but lifeguards never relax.
There's an emergency call from police.
Bring it back to the water's edge.
A man has fallen from 50 metre cliffs north of Bondi.
With no road access, Chase and Will launch the jet ski.
Yeah. When you're ready!
The panic was going through me,
but then you kinda go into this fight or flight moment
trying to save this guy's life,
and know that if anything's gonna happen from here, it's on us.
Troy and Hoppo prepare for a possible resuscitation.
So, in this situation, we don't know what we're dealing with.
The positive side is the person is still alive.
We get 'em back to the beach and we can either revive them
or get them off the hospital as quick as possible.
The negative is the person is already deceased
and they're on the rocks and there's not much we can do.
I mean, the situation that Chase and Will find themselves in,
it can be quite intimidating.
Although we're trained for this,
it's never a good scenario to be in.
Everything's about time,
so you want to get to this person as quick as possible,
and that's when everything travels through your mind.
I just don't know whether I'm gonna find someone
at the bottom of the rocks,
or someone sitting there, hopefully alive.
I think that's the scariest part.
OSHER: A man has fallen from 50-metre cliffs just north of Bondi.
Chase and Will travel a kilometre around Ben Buckler headland.
The rest of the team are on standby.
Got two out there, we've got one up in the tower,
and we've got all of us ready on standby here,
just in case we have a resus on the water's edge.
But at the same time, we've still got all the swimmers
to worry about as well.
So you've just gotta constantly be scanning and just making sure
that you're on top of both situations
and just trying to keep calm, otherwise, things go wrong.
So, the update -
they're trying to locate where the patient is at the moment.
They got the police helicopter up there.
They're looking, but it's so rocky in that, round there,
he could be between the rocks.
It'd be very hard to see from the water,
and also up on top of the cliff can be hard.
Such dangerous conditions because it's so choppy
and there's so much going on.
Trying to evaluate what safest for us
and what's safest for this person.
PolAir finally spots the fallen man.
Tragically, the man has not survived.
If anything, they'll winch the guy up.
If it was in the water, we would have brought him back.
So, probably a police rescue retrieval now.
Unfortunately, the person is deceased.
The police now will take over.
There's not much more we can do as lifeguards,
so Will and Chase will stand down and come back to the beach.
It's never the best feeling when you get to come back to shore
and know that someone's lost their life, so just feels helpless.
It's the worst case scenario.
You just wish someone saw it earlier or was able to help.
In 19 years of lifeguarding,
Whippet has never backed down from a challenge.
Grab on, and I'll pull you on. Come on, let's go!
There's a big set coming in off the rocks.
But the biggest test of his life
is a long way from the cliffs of Bondi.
It begins near the cliffs of Dover, on the other side of the world.
He's attempting to swim the English Channel for charity.
See you in France.
6:32am, Monday morning, and Whippet's commencing his swim.
Big physical challenges are exciting to me.
18 months out, started training and finally got over to England.
The swim itself was definitely scary.
It's a really isolating feeling.
It's so deep and the water is kind of so dark.
You can't see anything past your hand when you're stroking.
So knowing that you're going to be in there
for a minimum of 9 to 10 hours -
maybe up to 14 or 15, depending how the day goes -
it's really tough.
It's hard on the mind and it's hard on the body.
It's a 40 kilometre swim
through the world's busiest shipping lane.
We're coming up to his four and a half hour feed.
We're in the south west shipping channels.
When you get out into the middle of the shipping lanes,
the size of these ships is just incredible.
It's really intimidating.
You're just a tiny speck in the ocean.
And I know the swimmer has technically got right of way
in the English Channel, but I don't care.
Those cargo ships take a while to turn around,
so if one's on course, you know, you're getting out of its way,
rather than it changing for you.
And I know you've got your boat next to you,
but if you touch it or get on it for safety, your swim's over.
It was a real possibility that I wouldn't make it.
Any sort of failure was always going to be my biggest fear.
OSHER: Whippet is attempting the biggest challenge of his life -
a 40 kilometre swim across the English Channel.
The swim got really difficult when the weather changed.
The wind picked up and it got quite choppy,
and it really made the rest of the swim quite hard.
The wind has come up a little bit, unpredicted,
so gonna be a bit stronger than what it was gonna be.
At 8 hours, my left shoulder blew out on me a bit
and I was really feeling the pain.
It was burning every stroke,
and I was starting to struggle a bit, mentally and physically.
But then I could see land and, you know, it gave me a huge boost.
Let's go, Whippy!
Whippet's mate Reedy has joined him for moral support.
I had Reedy yapping at me off the boat.
Stepping into the lion's den.
I'm gonna jump in and do half an hour with him.
Reedy jumped in for the last kilometre with me,
and it was just a really enjoyable and special time to
finish off my swim with him.
Challenge him, Reedy.
To successfully complete the English Channel
and make it an official swim, you have to clear the water line
and kind of get on to dry land
and the guys on the boat are like, "Keep going, keep going,"
and I'm like, "I'm in knee-deep water on sharp rocks.
"My legs don't really work."
So, for the next, like, 80 metres,
I'm almost breast stroking across these rocks.
Yeah, Whip!
9 hours 39 minutes!
You made it! Wow. What a day!
Finally, yep, Whippet, you're an English Channel swimmer.
That was brutal. Talk me through it.
A lot of head noise.
Some super, super sore shoulders.
Physically and mentally,
by far the hardest thing I've ever taken on.
Such a good feeling to have that done.
Oh, that's epic.
Wife Gina, and three boys, Jett, Nixon and Marley,
are on hand to celebrate.
It's the hardest thing I've ever done,
but it's also the most rewarding.
Whippet's Channel swim was motivated by a charity close to his heart.
He was raising funds for Ocean Heroes,
a charity that helps autistic children through surfing.
So today, down here at Bondi,
we've got another one of our Ocean Heroes events.
They're an awesome couple of hours
that we get kids from our autistic community down here
and take them on a safe surf lesson,
get them out in the ocean and get them to have a good time.
We got little Micah. Hi!
And we're gonna go surfing? Uh-huh.
Yeah? How far out do you want to go?
Out to where the real surfers are. That's right.
Are you ready to catch a big wave? Yes.
Alright, let's go, buddy. Do it.
So we paddle for the wave, we catch the wave.
That's it.
And then you show me how you're gonna stand up.
Yeah. Keep going.
Stand up.
Confident? Mm.
Alright, you're ready to go.
I am confident. Yes. Let's go.
Whippet's swim raised more than $130,000
for lifejackets, wetsuits and surfboards.
To now be here at Bondi and, you know,
having 50 autistic kids coming down and surfing with the boys
and, you know, being able to put this on for our autistic community
made it all worthwhile.
Proud of you.
That was a fun session, mate.
You made my day. I had a lot of fun.
That's good. How many waves did we catch?
I think three or four.
I'm going to need to get a surfboard and show it off.
Oh, yeah?
Do you reckon you'll be a big surfer star?
Yeah.
What if people start asking for your autograph?
I will give it to them.
See you, buddy. See you later. Bye.
I get emotional when I think about it,
because it's changing the lives of little kids.
Ugh.
I've been lucky to have three very healthy kids and...
You see the smile on these kids' faces,
that's pretty special.
Next time...
That kid's bloody lucky.
..a drowning teenager.
30 seconds longer, he'd be dead.
And what lurks beneath at Bondi?
Some sharks are harmless, others deadly.
Captions by Red Bee Media