After competing at the gruelling Lifesaving South Africa National Junior and Senior Surf Championship in Gqeberha recently, a local surfer and lifeguard at Milnerton Surf Lifesaving Club had no idea he would be hailed a hero.
On his way back to Cape Town, the off-duty lifeguard Ryan Chandler and a fellow lifeguard stopped in Victoria Bay for a few days of surfing when he heroically saved the life of a boy (age unknown).
While on the beach in Victoria Bay around 16:00 Ryan was finishing his surf at the point when he decided to paddle into the ocean to catch a wave.
The rescue
Shortly after catching the wave, he noticed a young pre-teen boy struggling in the rip current along the rocks before the pier.
“While riding the wave he realised that the boy was now actively drowning,” the Milnerton Surf Lifesaving Club says.
Ryan rode the wave to the boy and picked him up from under the water and onto his surfboard.
He reassured the boy and calmed him down.
“Once he established that the boy was breathing and understanding him, he signalled for assistance to the local lifeguards who were on duty. The lifeguard then responded with the torpedo buoy and flippers and after quite a struggle in the current and with the help of another local duty lifeguard the three of them were able to swim the boy over to the sandbank more in the centre of the bay and get a wave to shore to complete the rescue.”
The boy was handed over to the care of the lifeguards.
“We salute Ryan for his vigilance in identifying the swimmer in distress and for acting promptly and instinctively to secure the swimmer. Thanks to his quick actions, another young life was saved.”
