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VOICEOVER: This time on
Bondi Rescue...

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The biggest day of rescues
in a decade.

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Ow!
Hold on.

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Lifeguards are pushed to the
limit.

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We were doing rescue after
rescue.

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Agh!

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Chappo's off!

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They're drowning underneath
the mat. [SCREAMING]

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Shit.

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# Take me back to the sweet
times

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# The hot nights

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# Everything's gonna be alright

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# 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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It's the middle of
Bondi's silly season.

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Locals are on Christmas
holidays,

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tourists descend like seagulls
on a chip.

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The one week of the year

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when Australia's busiest beach

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gets even busier.

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When we come into our busy
period,

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you're coming to that
Christmas, New Year weeks.

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It's just like someone just
switches the switch and it's
all on.

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A crowd of 10,000 is usually
considered a busy day at the
office.

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Today, lifeguards expect
10 times that many.

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We're dealing with 100,000
people down here today, and...

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..I think we've got six
lifeguards.

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Chappo's comrades in arms

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are young gun, Chase...

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..former swimming champion,
Wally,

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Mitch, the newbie...

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..the Italian Stallion,
Mario...

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..Kiwi Harrison keeping watch
in the tower,

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and the veteran, Hoppo.

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The conditions on this day is
probably the worst that we can
get

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because it's about
two-three-foot surf.

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It's an east swell which makes
the Bay of Bondi move a lot of
water

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moving, so the rips are
prominent.

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Everything lined up to being
a very busy day.

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Busy is an understatement.

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It's only 11am and lifeguards
have already hauled in 20
swimmers.

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More rescues than all of last
week.

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Chase has pulled in
a dozen on the jet ski.

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Wally is clocking up
his eighth board rescue.

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The notorious Backpackers Rip
is playing havoc.

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Chappo and Mitch try to corral
swimmers to a safer spot.

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Hey! No swimming.

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Everyone, out of the water.

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These kids are getting into
trouble. This is what happens,
everyone.

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But it's too late.

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Two teenage boys have been
caught in the strong current,

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and they're being swept out to
sea.

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MAN: They'd probably been
swimming at the head of the
rip

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and then just started getting
sucked out.

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The protocol is you go
to the further person out.

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He was struggling.
He was going under.

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As I got him on the board,

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I turned around and his mate
with the blue rashie

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was starting to drift,

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which was concerning.

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Mitch can't reach the second
swimmer

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without risking the life
of his patient.

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Then Chase comes over
with the jet skim

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whips around and picks him up.

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This double rescue
brings the tally to 24,

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and Mitch's first today.

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Good start to the day.

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Good priming. [LAUGHS]

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These kids nearly drowned so
don't swim here, swim up
there.

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Try to tell everyone
not to swim there

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because that'll happen to
everybody.

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Yeah, the current.

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School, might be out for
summer, but the friends from
Western Sydney

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have learned a valuable lesson.

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I was trying to help him and
then I ended up getting caught
as well,

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so I was unfortunate.

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[EXHALES SHARPLY]

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Thank you.

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It happens quite regularly
down here that you see someone
start

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getting taken out to sea, and
their mate who can't swim
either,

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will go after them and then
next thing you know,

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they're both there
holding each other up.

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They jumped in front of a
'no swimming' sign,

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so it's probably not ideal,
but it's so busy that
you...you wouldn't

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even see the signs.

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Like, look how many people
are down here, it's nuts.

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With just one season under his
belt, 33-year-old Mitch

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is a relative rookie.

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Yeah, I grew up locally
over in Bronte.

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I was a plumber.

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Just got sick of
my Monday to Friday gig

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and just thought I'd do
something different.

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Started lifeguarding
about 18 months ago.

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It's been challenging for sure.

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As conditions worsen
at the south end...

97
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..Mitch is about to face the
biggest challenge of his brief
career.

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I just happened to have looked
towards the rip,

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and I saw a couple of heads
start drifting off the bank.

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The father holding up his son
with one hand.

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His head was submerged and he
was waving with his other
hand,

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so he was underwater
that whole time I paddled out.

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His head never broke the
surface.

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The dad only had seconds.

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[BLEEP]

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[BLEEP]

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I just tried to comfort them,
relax them.

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The patients don't have the
strength to climb on the board.

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And they're drifting
further from shore.

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And in that south end the rip
pulls quite hard out to see.

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And we did just start to go
further and further out.

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As waves continue to swamp
them,

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the young boy starts to panic.

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[BOY SHRIEKS]

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Mitch has saved a father and
son seconds from drowning

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at Bondi's south corner.

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Now he's struggling
to keep the boy calm.

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The kid was terrified.

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He was so young, especially
with the waves coming over as
well.

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It would have been a lot
to deal with.

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If the terrified boy
can just hold on,

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more help is on the way.

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Mario came down and then the
clubbie ski was on duty as
well.

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The father got on the clubbie
ski

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and the son on the ski with
Mario, and that was handy.

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That saved the day.

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As frantic family members watch
on,

128
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first the son, then the father

129
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make it safely back to the
beach.

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[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]

131
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Ishwar and his family
are visiting from Melbourne.

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It's a beach day
they'll never forget.

133
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I would have to put that as,
yeah, the most satisfying
rescue I've done

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in terms of how close it was
to being a proper disaster.

135
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It's a good feeling to know
you've saved someone's life.

136
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It feels pretty cool.

137
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By lunchtime, the rescue count
has reached 50.

138
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Chilled beachgoers are
oblivious to the chaos around
them.

139
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Lots of swimming, lots of
swimming and more swimming.

140
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The beach is getting
very dangerous this afternoon.

141
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If you are going to go for a
swim,

142
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just head up to
the red and yellow flags

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at the northern end of the
beach.

144
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Chappo pulled between
50 and 100 rescues today.

145
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I reckon we probably hit
our 70 mark.

146
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So still a few hours to go and
I reckon we might get a bit
busier,

147
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so I reckon he's
nailed it on the head today.

148
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Too dangerous current this
time, up there.

149
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Midafternoon, Chappo is
directing traffic at
Backpackers.

150
00:09:50,141 --> 00:09:51,452
No, buddy, go over there.

151
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Can you go back in?

152
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Very dangerous.

153
00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:57,320
Or is it more like herding
cats?

154
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Lay down. Lay, lay, lay!

155
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No, other way!
Agh!

156
00:10:01,359 --> 00:10:03,085
Move up there. Walk.

157
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Matey, I just rescued you.

158
00:10:04,949 --> 00:10:06,985
I just rescued you.

159
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It was a very unique day.
Like, you don't do them any
busier.

160
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Up further.

161
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Backpackers was just on fire.

162
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It was just ferocious.

163
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And there was not a lot of
niceties going on.

164
00:10:17,858 --> 00:10:19,895
There's a strong rip here, so
move, walk.

165
00:10:19,998 --> 00:10:21,413
No, don't nod. Move.

166
00:10:21,517 --> 00:10:24,416
No, no, no, no. You're a lot
heavier than her. Go!

167
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Rescue after rescue after
rescue.

168
00:10:32,873 --> 00:10:36,601
On a day this busy tragedy
can strike in a heartbeat.

169
00:10:37,602 --> 00:10:41,606
Chappo spots three children
struggling in the powerful rip.

170
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Hey, kids, kids, kids!

171
00:10:44,195 --> 00:10:46,749
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
Are you alright?

172
00:10:46,853 --> 00:10:48,302
I don't know how old
these kids were.

173
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Like, they could have been
seven, eight and nine, all
non-swimmers.

174
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They fall into a howling rip,
and I'm on the jet ski.

175
00:10:56,483 --> 00:10:59,624
There's three or four in the
water at Backies.

176
00:10:59,728 --> 00:11:02,938
Normally you just flick the
mat so they can climb up on
the jet ski,

177
00:11:03,041 --> 00:11:05,630
but they're holding
their sister up to me.

178
00:11:05,734 --> 00:11:08,426
So I put her in between my
legs, which is just out of the
ordinary.

179
00:11:08,529 --> 00:11:09,979
Sit here.

180
00:11:13,431 --> 00:11:15,191
The other two kids
were under the mat.

181
00:11:15,295 --> 00:11:17,193
Yes, you can. Where is she?
[SHRIEKING]

182
00:11:17,297 --> 00:11:18,574
They're drowning underneath
the mat.

183
00:11:18,678 --> 00:11:21,646
Chappo has to make
a split second decision.

184
00:11:23,890 --> 00:11:25,754
Oh! Chappo's off!

185
00:11:26,927 --> 00:11:28,895
I had no other option
except to bail.

186
00:11:28,998 --> 00:11:33,589
The child now sits alone
on a machine weighing 200kg.

187
00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:38,283
I've never done that before
in my life.

188
00:11:38,387 --> 00:11:41,459
I was just thinking,
"If this little girl falls off,

189
00:11:41,562 --> 00:11:43,530
"then she could drown."

190
00:11:50,917 --> 00:11:53,540
The engine's still going, so
it idles and it can take off,

191
00:11:53,643 --> 00:11:54,955
away from you.

192
00:11:55,059 --> 00:11:57,337
So, I've got to get them
on the mat quickly.

193
00:12:05,932 --> 00:12:07,036
On the mat.

194
00:12:07,140 --> 00:12:09,694
Climb over the kids,
back onto the jet ski

195
00:12:09,798 --> 00:12:11,869
and get them to shore safely.

196
00:12:11,972 --> 00:12:13,836
[ENGINE REVS]

197
00:12:19,669 --> 00:12:23,225
It was the only rescue in a
long, long, long time that
I've actually

198
00:12:23,328 --> 00:12:25,537
thought, "Turns to shit,
and one of them dies."

199
00:12:25,641 --> 00:12:27,747
That's basically as close

200
00:12:27,850 --> 00:12:31,026
as I've ever had that happen
to me, I reckon.

201
00:12:31,129 --> 00:12:32,717
Off, dudes.

202
00:12:37,584 --> 00:12:39,759
Could have ended pretty badly.

203
00:12:44,004 --> 00:12:49,078
Midafternoon, more than 30,000
people are crammed onto the
beach.

204
00:12:49,182 --> 00:12:53,358
Veteran lifeguard Hoppo decides
to pull out a lifeguard
technique

205
00:12:53,462 --> 00:12:57,017
he hasn't used since Nirvana
were the next big thing.

206
00:12:57,121 --> 00:12:59,192
It's got so busy, in summer,
on Backpackers'.

207
00:12:59,295 --> 00:13:01,470
I'm sitting on the rescue
board, waiting to go in for a
rescue,

208
00:13:01,573 --> 00:13:04,024
so, yeah, it's brought me
back to the '90s,

209
00:13:04,128 --> 00:13:05,715
the old school,
when I first started.

210
00:13:05,819 --> 00:13:07,752
Even with Hoppo in their midst,

211
00:13:07,856 --> 00:13:10,306
the crowd ignores the warnings.

212
00:13:10,410 --> 00:13:12,688
Everyone, it's just been said,
over and over.

213
00:13:12,792 --> 00:13:15,208
No swimming here.

214
00:13:15,311 --> 00:13:18,694
And the rescue tally is
reaching record proportions.

215
00:13:18,798 --> 00:13:19,937
Here you go, boys. Off you go.

216
00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:21,939
We're doing rescue after
rescue.

217
00:13:22,042 --> 00:13:23,492
People aren't listening to us.

218
00:13:23,595 --> 00:13:25,494
The riffs, now, are pulling
really hard.

219
00:13:25,597 --> 00:13:28,255
It's quite dangerous for
people who don't know what
they're doing.

220
00:13:32,846 --> 00:13:35,193
There's a little channel
enclosed, and there's little
kids

221
00:13:35,297 --> 00:13:36,746
getting in there.

222
00:13:36,850 --> 00:13:39,025
And if they just get taken,
they'll go real quick into
this rip.

223
00:13:43,650 --> 00:13:45,755
MAN: Up here! Hoppo!

224
00:13:45,859 --> 00:13:48,241
Moments later, Hoppo's fears
are realised.

225
00:13:48,344 --> 00:13:51,002
Two young girls are swept
off a sand bank.

226
00:13:51,106 --> 00:13:53,004
A radio chap had to come in
to pick them up,

227
00:13:53,108 --> 00:13:55,075
and when he came in, they
physically couldn't pull
themselves

228
00:13:55,179 --> 00:13:56,318
up on the sled.

229
00:13:57,767 --> 00:13:58,872
Exact same thing happened.

230
00:13:58,976 --> 00:14:01,426
Both went under, I didn't
hesitate.

231
00:14:03,428 --> 00:14:04,602
Bang! Straight in the water.

232
00:14:04,705 --> 00:14:05,845
Let the jet ski go.

233
00:14:07,329 --> 00:14:08,571
Popeye.

234
00:14:08,675 --> 00:14:10,332
Hoppo is off the ski.

235
00:14:10,435 --> 00:14:13,818
This time the unmanned jet ski
is in the shore break

236
00:14:13,922 --> 00:14:16,372
and heading straight for
swimmers.

237
00:14:17,995 --> 00:14:19,617
Shit.

238
00:14:26,175 --> 00:14:30,421
Bondi lifeguards are racking up
a record number of rescues.

239
00:14:33,044 --> 00:14:35,702
Chappo has dived off
the jet ski again...

240
00:14:35,805 --> 00:14:36,737
Shit.

241
00:14:36,841 --> 00:14:39,809
..to save two girls
in Backpackers' Rip.

242
00:14:44,849 --> 00:14:46,161
Shit!

243
00:14:46,264 --> 00:14:49,716
The unmanned jet ski heads
straight for swimmers.

244
00:14:54,410 --> 00:14:57,206
The jet ski's on its own, now,
just floating around in the
rip,

245
00:14:57,310 --> 00:14:59,622
and hoping it doesn't end up
on the sandbank where it could

246
00:14:59,726 --> 00:15:02,004
potentially hit someone.

247
00:15:02,108 --> 00:15:04,075
But I need to paddle fast
and help Chappo put them

248
00:15:04,179 --> 00:15:06,388
on the rescue board
to bring them back to shore.

249
00:15:08,148 --> 00:15:10,771
At that time, I didn't care
what was going to happen

250
00:15:10,875 --> 00:15:13,119
to the jet ski.
It wasn't in the flagged area.

251
00:15:13,222 --> 00:15:15,190
I had to rescue these two kids.

252
00:15:27,996 --> 00:15:28,997
I'm right. Hang on.

253
00:15:29,100 --> 00:15:30,584
Funnily enough,
because the rip was so strong,

254
00:15:30,688 --> 00:15:31,689
jet ski didn't wash in.

255
00:15:31,792 --> 00:15:33,035
Just stayed there.

256
00:15:34,140 --> 00:15:35,589
Hang on.

257
00:15:36,866 --> 00:15:40,525
For a driver to jump off the
jet ski and grab someone is
very, very rare.

258
00:15:40,629 --> 00:15:43,321
I mean, I've only seen it
not even a handful of times

259
00:15:43,425 --> 00:15:44,944
in my whole lifeguard career,

260
00:15:45,047 --> 00:15:48,257
and to happen twice in one day
is just unbelievable.

261
00:15:48,361 --> 00:15:51,502
The girls are finally safe
but still distressed.

262
00:15:58,785 --> 00:16:01,029
So, originally they said
that the mother was up north,

263
00:16:01,132 --> 00:16:03,721
and I thought,
"It's a long way to go."

264
00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:14,801
That's a long way from where
you were swimming, though.

265
00:16:14,904 --> 00:16:17,010
Did you walk all the way down
there?

266
00:16:17,114 --> 00:16:18,770
Huh?

267
00:16:18,874 --> 00:16:20,013
So, the issue I have now

268
00:16:20,117 --> 00:16:22,222
is I'm stuck with these two
little girls,

269
00:16:22,326 --> 00:16:23,430
trying to find the mother.

270
00:16:23,534 --> 00:16:25,191
So, it's eyes off the water.

271
00:16:26,468 --> 00:16:28,677
The time there, looking for
parents,

272
00:16:28,780 --> 00:16:30,299
it could cost someone else's
life.

273
00:16:31,714 --> 00:16:33,199
They nearly were going under,

274
00:16:33,302 --> 00:16:36,064
and then can't find
the parents anywhere.

275
00:16:36,167 --> 00:16:38,169
Well, there only young kids.

276
00:16:39,999 --> 00:16:44,796
Further south, Chappo spots a
woman frantically searching the
surf.

277
00:16:46,074 --> 00:16:49,318
Hey, what do your kids look
like?

278
00:16:49,422 --> 00:16:50,975
Two girls?

279
00:16:51,079 --> 00:16:53,357
Yeah, she was freaking out,
saying, "I've lost my kids.

280
00:16:53,460 --> 00:16:54,427
"I've lost my kids."

281
00:16:54,530 --> 00:16:56,015
No, they're alright. They're
OK.

282
00:16:56,118 --> 00:16:57,154
They're... Hey, sweetheart.

283
00:16:57,257 --> 00:17:00,053
Hey. I've just rescued them.
They're safe.

284
00:17:00,157 --> 00:17:03,746
They're OK. Hey. Go and see
the lifeguards on the beach.

285
00:17:03,850 --> 00:17:05,093
Just here.

286
00:17:09,028 --> 00:17:12,307
Hey, Hops, where are those two
girls that just got rescued?

287
00:17:12,410 --> 00:17:13,929
I think her mum's here.

288
00:17:14,033 --> 00:17:16,552
I've got them here with me.

289
00:17:16,656 --> 00:17:18,175
Mummy!

290
00:17:19,693 --> 00:17:21,281
We just rescued them.

291
00:17:21,385 --> 00:17:23,180
Just got them.
They were nearly under.

292
00:17:23,283 --> 00:17:25,803
You've got to take note of
them.

293
00:17:25,906 --> 00:17:28,047
Both of her daughters could
have been dead.

294
00:17:28,150 --> 00:17:29,358
[GIRL SOBS]

295
00:17:29,462 --> 00:17:31,809
You start getting a bit
frustrated and angry

296
00:17:31,912 --> 00:17:35,019
because it would have been,
then, they'd blame us

297
00:17:35,123 --> 00:17:37,435
for not saving the kids.

298
00:17:37,539 --> 00:17:42,026
But it's the parents'
responsibility to be looking
after their own kids.

299
00:17:42,130 --> 00:17:44,546
When you've got busy days like
that, and you've got parents

300
00:17:44,649 --> 00:17:46,962
not watching kids, and there's
people constantly getting
pulled

301
00:17:47,066 --> 00:17:49,033
into the rips, it's hard
to control your emotions,

302
00:17:49,137 --> 00:17:50,310
but we're here every day.

303
00:17:50,414 --> 00:17:51,656
We know the conditions.

304
00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:54,797
These people are coming maybe
once in a lifetime to Bondi,

305
00:17:54,901 --> 00:17:57,145
so we need to be sympathetic,
at the same time,

306
00:17:57,248 --> 00:17:59,975
trying to get our point across
that they understand

307
00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:02,564
the dangers of what they've
just been involved with.

308
00:18:02,667 --> 00:18:06,775
As the shadows lengthen,
so does the rescue tally.

309
00:18:06,878 --> 00:18:10,399
And there are still thousands
on the beach.

310
00:18:10,503 --> 00:18:13,402
It's chaotic. It's the busiest
day I've worked in years.

311
00:18:15,542 --> 00:18:18,511
The beach is starting to thin
out a bit, but really
concerned.

312
00:18:18,614 --> 00:18:20,616
We'll be out of here
in about 50 minutes.

313
00:18:22,101 --> 00:18:24,482
The problem is going to be
is when we pack up and go home.

314
00:18:24,586 --> 00:18:26,139
At 7:00, we finish.

315
00:18:26,243 --> 00:18:28,417
These people are going
to keep going in the water.

316
00:18:28,521 --> 00:18:30,557
You know, it's light till 8:00,
8:30.

317
00:18:30,661 --> 00:18:33,284
So, we've just got to hope
that no-one drowns after hours.

318
00:18:35,355 --> 00:18:38,393
Just when lifeguards think
the end is in sight,

319
00:18:38,496 --> 00:18:39,773
Chase radios in.

320
00:18:39,877 --> 00:18:42,086
North to Central.

321
00:18:56,445 --> 00:18:57,826
North to Central.

322
00:19:14,049 --> 00:19:17,156
[ALARM BLARES]

323
00:19:19,296 --> 00:19:22,437
After more than 100 rescues
in a single day,

324
00:19:22,540 --> 00:19:25,681
a confirmed shark sighting
has lifeguards scrambling

325
00:19:25,785 --> 00:19:27,131
to clear the water.

326
00:19:30,376 --> 00:19:31,411
This is to Bondi lifeguards.

327
00:19:31,515 --> 00:19:33,827
Just so you know,
we've had a report of a shark.

328
00:19:33,931 --> 00:19:36,589
Yeah. Attention, everyone. We
need everyone to leave the
water.

329
00:19:38,625 --> 00:19:41,352
A local guy said he saw
a pretty big shark.

330
00:19:41,456 --> 00:19:43,665
This is the time of the night
where they're bringing in

331
00:19:43,768 --> 00:19:45,253
the schools of fish.

332
00:19:45,356 --> 00:19:46,737
They're chasing them to have a
feed.

333
00:19:49,671 --> 00:19:52,674
Look, we didn't need that
at the end of the day,

334
00:19:52,777 --> 00:19:55,090
but we were getting punches
thrown at us all day.

335
00:19:55,194 --> 00:19:56,298
What's another one?

336
00:19:56,402 --> 00:19:57,817
Everyone just leave the water.

337
00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:00,302
If everyone could just
come back to shore.

338
00:20:00,406 --> 00:20:03,926
The shark has done lifeguards
a favour.

339
00:20:04,030 --> 00:20:08,103
With swimmers out of the water,
Hoppo and his exhausted team

340
00:20:08,207 --> 00:20:10,105
can finally relax,

341
00:20:10,209 --> 00:20:12,935
after clocking up
a month's worth of rescues

342
00:20:13,039 --> 00:20:14,385
in a single day.

343
00:20:15,524 --> 00:20:18,424
It would have been up around
the 120 rescues for the day.

344
00:20:18,527 --> 00:20:21,289
It was probably the busiest day
I've worked for, you know,

345
00:20:21,392 --> 00:20:23,256
10 years plus.

346
00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:26,604
Even the most experienced
lifeguards are shattered.

347
00:20:26,708 --> 00:20:27,916
How many rescues
do you reckon we did?

348
00:20:28,019 --> 00:20:30,401
I must have done 50 in
Backpackers'.

349
00:20:30,505 --> 00:20:31,954
Easy.

350
00:20:32,058 --> 00:20:35,786
On days like that, it's only
really the six guys who go
through it

351
00:20:35,889 --> 00:20:40,204
that really understand the
intensity of what just went
down.

352
00:20:40,308 --> 00:20:42,586
Oh, far out, man.

353
00:20:42,689 --> 00:20:45,002
That was just one of the
busiest days I've ever had.

354
00:20:45,105 --> 00:20:46,417
MAN: It's the worst.

355
00:20:46,521 --> 00:20:48,005
Anyway.

356
00:20:48,108 --> 00:20:49,248
That was gnarly.

357
00:20:49,351 --> 00:20:52,078
Somebody should have drowned
that day.

358
00:20:53,321 --> 00:20:55,495
You know, I walked away from
that a little bit rattled,

359
00:20:55,599 --> 00:21:01,018
but also super proud of what
everyone did for such a long,

360
00:21:01,121 --> 00:21:02,744
intense period of time.

361
00:21:05,712 --> 00:21:08,439
WOMAN: Three, two, one!

362
00:21:08,543 --> 00:21:10,269
[CHEERING]

363
00:21:10,372 --> 00:21:12,995
What a day. That's what we do
on the good days. Memorable.

364
00:21:13,099 --> 00:21:14,894
Memorable day.

365
00:21:14,997 --> 00:21:16,205
Nice one, boys!
There you go.

366
00:21:16,309 --> 00:21:18,104
There we go.