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available now - details on

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available now - details on our

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available now - details on our
website.

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NARRATOR: On Bondi Rescue...

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That kid's bloody lucky.

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A race to save a drowning teenager.

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Two seconds longer, he'd be dead.

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We'll give it a go, eh?

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Hoppo goes against his instincts,
leading a tourist into a rip.

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Now, I don't know if this guy
is going to sink or swim.

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This is totally
putting my reputation on the line.

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And what dangers
lurk beneath the water at Bondi?

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Suddenly I turn the corner
and look behind me

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and there's a big shark there.

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I was definitely scared
at that point,

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and the heart was in the mouth.

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SONG: # Take me back
to the sweet times

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# The hot nights

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# Everything is going to be alright
in the summertime

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# Baby, in the summertime

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# That is where I'll be. #

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With Australia's borders back open,

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tourists descend on Bondi
from around the globe.

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We are from Argentina.

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We're from Fiji.

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I'm from Greece.

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We are from Morocco.

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I'm from New York,
and everyone should come to Bondi.

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(CHEERING)

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Lourdes is from Philippines.

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She's back in Bondi
after her first visit 20 years ago.

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Can we get one more dance?

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Most of the times
when you start your shift,

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you go down to the shoreline,
check for rips.

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Today, the start of the shift
starts with a dance.

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Oh! Oh, yes.

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# La la la la la. #

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(VOCALISES INDISTINCTLY)

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(LAUGHS)

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Yes!

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Oh, you're beautiful. Come here.

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During Bondi's summer migration,

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international visitors sometimes
display highly unusual behaviour.

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Interfering with lifeguard equipment
is not permitted.

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In this case,
it's difficult to police.

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(LAUGHTER)

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So, on the beach,
we've got our emergency equipment,

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we've got the boards, we've got the
beach buggy and also the jet ski.

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Members of the public, we don't
want them near it or on them.

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And the reason
we have them all set up

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is because we can respond
really quickly.

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(LAUGHTER)

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(LAUGHS)

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On this day the lifeguards decided
not to engage with the lady

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due to the circumstances

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and waited till she left

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and the buggy was then good to go.

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Experiencing the joys of Bondi

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is at the top of many people's
bucket list.

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Nice to meet you.

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Dave is visually impaired
and escaping the UK winter.

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An eye operation five years ago
went terribly wrong.

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Yeah.

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Despite overcast conditions,
weekend crowds flock to the beach.

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Protecting inexperienced swimmers
is the lifeguards' first priority.

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Sometimes the most dangerous parts
of the beach

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can appear deceptively calm.

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We're being really vigilant
down the southern end

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due to the tricky conditions.

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Outgoing tide. Bit of swell.

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So, yeah, we just have to be
really careful down there,

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especially for the non-swimmers.

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For one unsuspecting swimmer,

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that warning has come too late.

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As I was making the announcement,

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there was one head that had just
drifted off the sandbank

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and then all of a sudden
he was gone.

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The swimmer is in a rip
just 20 metres from shore.

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A volunteer lifesaver
heads in first.

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The closer I get to this patient,
the worse it's looking.

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His eyes just looked so vacant

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that it was almost like
he was unconscious.

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It just looks horrendous.

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Will spots a drowning swimmer
just 20 metres from shore.

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All I could see
was the top of his head.

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My initial reaction was just...
just go.

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A volunteer lifesaver
heads in first.

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Will is seconds behind.

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I get to the patient who's
just being held up just by a clubbie

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and the only thing
going through my mind

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is I've got to get him to shore
as fast as possible.

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The shock from the situation
has left them

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borderline unconscious
and unresponsive.

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I've just got to shake him and sort
of hit him on the back just to...

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..to wake him up
and get him to come to.

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It was kind of like waking up
out of a really deep sleep,

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except that deep sleep
was almost a forever sleep.

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The teenage boy
is out of immediate danger,

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but there could be
a lethal complication.

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Secondary drowning
is a massive possibility for him.

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Any amount of water
that's on the lungs is quite severe.

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You know,
there's a high chance of death

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if he's not monitored properly.

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16-year-old Ataiah
is from western Sydney.

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Despite being a gifted athlete,

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he was no match
for the powerful rip.

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The kid's suddenly like drowning
a little bit.

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Yeah, he didn't look like
that he was like swimming properly.

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So I went first responder there,

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and then the blue ball, he came

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and then we just got him out, yeah.

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The first priority
is to administer oxygen.

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How are you feeling now?
How are you feeling in your chest?

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Do you feel like
you want to throw up?

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No, I don't.
You don't?

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Just a bit salty?

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We're just going to give you
just like another couple of minutes
on this, yeah?

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An oximeter will quickly determine

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whether Ataiah has ingested water
into his lungs.

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Yeah?
Yeah.

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I'm just a bit worried
about his oxygen.

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Like,
where his oxygen saturation level...

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So, the oxygen in his blood should
normally be sitting around 90s,

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mid to high 90s.

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But it's lower?

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Well, the last time it showed up,
it was 48.

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So it's really, really low.

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But the thing is, I'm worried
about water on his lungs

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and in his chest.

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If his levels don't come up,

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I kind of have an inclination
to call an ambulance

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just to have him checked over.

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Because if he has water on his lungs

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and you take him home
and he falls asleep...

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Yeah.
You know...

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He's gonna cough it out.
Well, he could drown in his sleep.

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Infection
could be another complication.

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Bacterial infection in the lungs
can lead to pneumonia.

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I had to be very firm
and extremely honest with the uncle

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about the severity of the situation
that his nephew was just in,

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purely because within a second
it could turn.

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Keep breathing. I don't want...
Don't worry about talking.

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I just want you
to focus on your breathing, yeah?

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I didn't want to let him
out of my sight.

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I had to keep watching him

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because these minutes
after the rescue,

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these are key
to the patient's survival.

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Just going to wrap this around you,
bud, so you stay nice and warm.

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After 15 minutes, Ataiah's oxygen
saturation returns to normal.

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How are you starting to feel?

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Starting to feel really good?

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Alright, well, let's take this off
and let's just get you standing up.

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See how you're travelling, eh?

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Yeah, you can take that off now,
bud.

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After that whole ordeal,

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I was stoked to see him stand up
and be a kid again.

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I nearly drowned.

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The water was getting too high
and over my head.

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So, like,
I kept on swallowing water as well

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and going down instead of up.

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Sometimes
even the fittest and healthiest

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can't beat the power of a rip.

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No worries. No worries.

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It was just really bloody lucky

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that that clubbie was out there,

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because a couple of seconds more
and he would have been dead.

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So it was a good team effort.

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Come on.

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Hey, mate. Thanks, buddy. Well done.

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Well done, eh? Good job.

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COVID lockdowns may be over,

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but there's an unforeseen consequence
unfolding across Australia.

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Nationwide, drowning deaths
are the highest they've been

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since 1996.

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Water safety education
came to a standstill during COVID.

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Now lifeguard coordinator Hoppo

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is promoting surf safety
in three simple words.

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Float to survive.
Float to survive.

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Float to survive? (LAUGHS)
Float to survive.

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What we were after
was a simple message

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and that was 'Float to survive'.

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Float, stay calm
and go with the flow of the water,

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and that will take you
to the sandbank

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or where the waves are breaking,

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which then will push you
back to shore.

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A common mistake people make
when they're caught in a rip

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is try to swim
back to where they came from.

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They get exhausted.

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They start panicking.

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Then they swallow water
and then ultimately drown.

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You know, it's not rips
that kill you,

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it's the panic.

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Hoppo has enlisted a fellow lifeguard
to help spread the word.

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Wally has been a lifeguard at Bondi
for six years.

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He's a master in the water

196
00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:46,120
and a dab hand with a brush.

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Hoppo's message this summer
is 'Float to survive'.

198
00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:51,680
So I thought it'd be a good idea
to do a mural for it

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right in the middle of South Bondi.

200
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I haven't done a mural before,
so this is huge for me.

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And to be able to do it at Bondi,
where I work, pretty stoked.

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Whoo!

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To prove his theory actually works,

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Hoppo recruits a random stranger.

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00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,560
My name is William Barjo,
and I'm from Quebec, Canada.

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00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:17,880
Yeah, I'd say I'm a medium swimmer.

207
00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:18,920
I don't lose many.

208
00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:20,320
No? OK. Perfect.
So you should be alright.

209
00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,160
Yeah. That's reassuring. Really.
(LAUGHS)

210
00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:26,440
So this is where the rip is.

211
00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:27,800
So, all the water's coming in

212
00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:29,640
and all the water's
got to go back out again.

213
00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:31,760
It should take us
across the back of there

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00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,160
and into where that whitewater is
over in that spot there.

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00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:36,120
So if we just float,

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00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:39,400
then it should just naturally
take us without using any energy.

217
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OK.
Alright?

218
00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:42,680
Yeah.
We'll give it a go, eh?

219
00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:45,080
It's just occurred to me
as I'm walking in the water,

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00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:46,880
I don't know who this guy is.

221
00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:49,080
I don't know if this guy
is going to sink or swim.

222
00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,040
This is totally
putting my reputation on the line.

223
00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:08,440
Lifeguard coordinator Hoppo
is risking his reputation.

224
00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:14,280
He's going against his instincts
and leading a tourist into a rip.

225
00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:16,000
He's hoping to prove

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00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:17,600
'Float to survive'

227
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:19,360
actually works.

228
00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,000
Yeah, people will probably say
I'm crazy,

229
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,080
but, in my expert opinion,

230
00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,840
people need to experience
what it's like to be in a rip,

231
00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:28,720
so when they're on their own,
without me,

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00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:30,440
they can survive themselves.

233
00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,560
As waves push water
towards the shore,

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00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:37,920
it escapes back out to sea,
causing a rip.

235
00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:41,360
But rips often look deceptively calm

236
00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:45,280
and can even trap
experienced swimmers.

237
00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,840
Step one - when you get to the point
you can't stand up,

238
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:04,400
just relax and let the water
take you across the beach.

239
00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,800
Step two - as the rip
takes you across,

240
00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:20,520
gentle sculling keeps you afloat
and you use very little energy...

241
00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:24,480
..until eventually
you reach the sandbar.

242
00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:30,880
In less than a minute, the rip
lands them back on their feet.

243
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:42,680
Step three - before you know it,

244
00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:44,560
you're standing up on the sandbank

245
00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,360
and walking safely back to shore.

246
00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:50,160
What would you have done
if no-one was here

247
00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:52,840
and you were in a rip
and you couldn't stand?

248
00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:57,720
Yeah, I mean, first instinct,
just to go straight in the line...

249
00:15:57,720 --> 00:15:58,720
Straight back, yeah.

250
00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:00,360
..just crawling maybe, pushing.

251
00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,520
But I would have been exhausted
so...

252
00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,640
Yeah. So,
you weren't even exhausted at all?

253
00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:06,960
Nope.
Yeah.

254
00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,560
No. Just a day of swimming. (LAUGHS)

255
00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:10,720
Well done.

256
00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:11,720
Thank you, sir.

257
00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:12,760
You survived on your own.
Yeah.

258
00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:14,680
You didn't even need a lifeguard.
Yeah, I did. Yeah.

259
00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:17,080
It's a bit counterintuitive,
you know,

260
00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:19,280
but it turns out

261
00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,040
it's the best way to save your life.

262
00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:24,160
I'm stoked the way
the demonstration went.

263
00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:26,600
My reputation is intact.

264
00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:33,600
Late afternoon, the tide drops
and the rips grow stronger.

265
00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,320
ANDY: Guys...
Hoppo's 'float to survive' message...

266
00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:37,440
..listen to me.

267
00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,320
..isn't getting through to everyone.

268
00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:40,960
Guys, listen.

269
00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:43,000
Go out in the rip.

270
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,800
Just let it take you out.

271
00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:46,240
Float and relax,

272
00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,440
and just go onto the bank
on my right-hand side.

273
00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:57,000
The swimmer and beginner surfer
are working hard and going nowhere.

274
00:17:28,120 --> 00:17:30,240
With the patient on board,

275
00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:32,800
Andy paddles across the rip,

276
00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:34,120
not against it.

277
00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:41,760
What happens is the waves will
wash you back onto that sandbank.

278
00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:42,800
OK.

279
00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,080
You were fighting against it
the whole time.

280
00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:47,520
If you just relax,
float on your back,

281
00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:49,560
go out and onto that sandbank,

282
00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:50,680
it'll bring you back in.

283
00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,000
Sorry, what was your name again?
Andy.

284
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,600
Vanessa has lived in Australia
10 years.

285
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,600
Today was a long overdue lesson
in surf safety.

286
00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,760
That's like the strongest rip
I've ever been in.

287
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:03,520
So just got stuck out there

288
00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:08,400
and, yeah, luckily one of the
lifeguards came to get us out of it.

289
00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:10,920
But, yeah, it was a bit scary.

290
00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:13,520
That's the perfect example
on how people drown.

291
00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:15,160
They try and fight the water.

292
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,160
Top Olympic swimmers
struggle to swim against it.

293
00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,280
And so unless you're extremely fit,

294
00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:23,160
you're not going to make it
back to shore

295
00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:24,400
swimming into a rip.

296
00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:34,960
(ALARM WAILS)

297
00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:40,000
Rips aren't the only danger
in the water.

298
00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:49,080
(SIREN WAILS)

299
00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,720
The last shark attack at Bondi
was in 2009.

300
00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:58,680
Surfer Glenn Orgias lost his hand
after an attack at South End.

301
00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:00,880
Did you feel like you were going to
pass out or were you pretty calm?

302
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:02,640
I screamed, obviously.
Yeah.

303
00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:04,440
That was kind of
the first thing that happened.

304
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:06,080
And then I just, you know...

305
00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,400
..you just do your best
in that situation to get in.

306
00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,440
While shark attacks are rare,

307
00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,440
shark sightings around Bondi
are common.

308
00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:17,600
Yeehoo!

309
00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:21,040
Chase,
Bondi's youngest full-time lifeguard,

310
00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:23,760
lives and breathes the ocean.

311
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:26,840
Sharks are never far from his mind.

312
00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,200
Surf at these beaches my whole life,
it kind of becomes comfortable.

313
00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:34,280
But once you start going out further
and surfing on the points and reefs,

314
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:36,200
if I was to come face to face
with a shark,

315
00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:38,600
I would scream and paddle as fast
as I could to get out of there.

316
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,640
Sharks are never far from his mind.

317
00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:45,840
He's been invited on a shark dive

318
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,720
with Australian junior spearfishing
champion Lara Puckeridge.

319
00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,800
Lara and her brother Aaron,
and Ian, the old man,

320
00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,760
their family's known in Bondi
as the gurus of the ocean.

321
00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:01,400
So being able to go for a dive with
Lara is a true honour for me. Ha.

322
00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:02,720
I've seen some cool stuff.

323
00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,120
Like, Aaron had his great white
just off the point here.

324
00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:09,280
Just metres from the Bondi shoreline,

325
00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,280
Lara's brother Aaron

326
00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:15,440
came face to face
with a 3-metre great white.

327
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,200
His encounter made national news.

328
00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:20,240
So, to start with,
I thought it might have been a seal,

329
00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:22,640
but then it did a big U-turn
and came back towards me

330
00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:24,520
and saw it was a massive
great white shark.

331
00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:27,120
Then it proceeded to circle me
for the next five minutes.

332
00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:31,520
The amount of times I've just gone
for a swim thinking I'm safe there.

333
00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:35,360
Wow.

334
00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:37,120
That's what
I do not want to run into.

335
00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:38,400
Yeah.
(BOTH LAUGH)

336
00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:42,640
How do you just swim around
a shark?

337
00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:43,800
They're nowhere near as game

338
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:45,560
if you're with someone,

339
00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:46,600
or if you stick your head out

340
00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:48,280
because you're not making
eye contact anymore.

341
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:50,160
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
They don't like eye contact.

342
00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,480
Really? Alright.
Well, glad to know that.

343
00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:54,160
Hopefully I'll see it
before it sees me.

344
00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:55,320
Yeah.
(BOTH LAUGH)

345
00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:57,240
Lara's seen a lot of sharks
in her time

346
00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,240
and she's comfortable
and confident around them.

347
00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:00,280
I know I'm in good hands,

348
00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:02,520
but I just hope
there's not a great white out there.

349
00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:08,040
Often it's mistaken identity
when stuff like attacks do happen.

350
00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:09,960
Yeah, well, that's good to know.

351
00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:11,760
Part of me is excited,

352
00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:12,920
part of me is very scared.

353
00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:14,720
I just don't know
what I'm going to run into.

354
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:25,400
There we go.

355
00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:27,680
While shark attacks are rare,

356
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,120
shark sightings are relatively common
around Bondi.

357
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,280
I'm so lucky to be out here
with Lara.

358
00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:40,360
Beautiful day.
We got good visibility in the water.

359
00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:41,800
But I'm just worried

360
00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:43,920
we're going to run into something
that might eat us.

361
00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:53,040
Straightaway I just saw
the biggest school of baitfish,

362
00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:55,520
and there's a few kingfish
lurking in amongst them.

363
00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:57,480
And then we dive down

364
00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,240
and you can see all the rocks
and reef around us.

365
00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:03,280
It's a breathtaking place to be.

366
00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,800
But suddenly I turn the corner
and look behind me,

367
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:09,480
and there's a big shark there.

368
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:13,480
I was definitely scared
at that point

369
00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:14,640
and the heart was in the mouth.

370
00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:19,520
Looks like a great white,

371
00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:21,320
but it's just a grey nurse,

372
00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:22,720
so I'm very relieved.

373
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:24,560
The grey nurses
are the Labradors of the sea,

374
00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:26,600
they're very gentle,
friendly giants.

375
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,120
And they've still got the big,
sharp teeth and the scary look,

376
00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:30,720
but, yeah, they're quite harmless.

377
00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,960
Often mistaken
for more dangerous sharks,

378
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,640
the grey nurse
was almost hunted to extinction.

379
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,200
Now they are a protected species.

380
00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:49,280
Amazing sight, pretty much
right entering their front doorstep.

381
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,280
They're very welcoming
and almost offered me a cup of tea.

382
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:02,760
Ooh.

383
00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:04,200
Perfect. Perfect.

384
00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:10,720
Yeah.

385
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:15,200
It's been an amazing day.

386
00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,400
I never thought
I'd be this comfortable swimming

387
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:18,800
with all these nice, big sharks,

388
00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,240
and I was just glad
to make it out alive.

389
00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:30,320
Come in here.
A first for Jackson.

390
00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:32,520
This is the first time
I've used this,

391
00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:33,920
and I'm a bit nervous
at this point.

392
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,440
And the search is on -

393
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,360
a man seen floating
off Bondi's cliffs.

394
00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:41,600
It's life or death.

395
00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:42,760
Just miss it by a wave,

396
00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:44,720
when you've got the ocean,
when it's that rough.

397
00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:47,720
Captions by Red Bee Media