Heroic Boy Swims Miles to Save His Family Stranded at Sea

13-year-old Austin Appelbee is being hailed as a hero after swimming for more than two hours to get help for his mother and two younger siblings, who were stranded at sea for over 10 hours off the coast of Western Australia.

Austin Appelbee | Credit: ABC

Austin and his family were paddleboarding and kayaking when sudden rough conditions swept them out to sea. After losing both their oars, Austin’s mother, Joanne Appelbee, made the tough decision to send Austin to shore to get help while she stayed with her younger children, ages 12 and 8.

“I did breaststroke, I did freestyle, I did survival backstroke,” he said. “At one point I was thinking of Thomas the Tank Engine. I was trying to get the a happiest things in my head to try and make it through.” Eventually, Austin made it to shore, but his exhausting journey wasn’t over yet. “I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed and then after that I had to sprint 2 kilometers to go get to the phone.”

Thanks to Austin’s bravery, his mom and siblings were found by emergency services clinging to a paddleboard in the dark. All three of them were taken to health experts and have since recovered. Marine Rescue commander Paul Bresland said, “Two hours without a life jacket on and yeah, he made it. Superhuman effort.”

Austin and his siblings learned to swim from a young age, and Joanne hopes her family’s story will encourage other families to do the same. “There’s no bigger word to describe him other than proud,” she said. “I’m speechless at his efforts, but at the same time, I knew he could do it.”