A 13-year-old Australian boy who had recently failed a school swimming assessment swam for nearly four hours through rough seas to raise the alarm after his family was swept out to sea off Western Australia, an ordeal his mother later described as one of the hardest decisions of her life.
Austin Appelbee’s effort, later described by rescuers as “superhuman” — came after his family was blown offshore while paddleboarding and kayaking at Geographe Bay on Friday.
His mother, Joanne Appelbee, told BBC News that sending her teenage son alone toward shore as daylight faded was a decision that haunted her as she waited with her two younger children in open water.
“What have I done?” she recalled thinking, speaking to the BBC. “If he hasn’t made it, what have I done, have I made the wrong decision, and is anyone going to come and save my other two?”
Western Australia Police said strong winds pushed the family’s inflatables off course near Quindalup beach, causing them to drift steadily away from land. The family lost their oars as conditions worsened, leaving Joanne, her son Beau, 12, and daughter Grace, eight, clinging to paddleboards, while Austin attempted to reach shore to get help.
“Early on, we sent this young man back in to try and get help because it didn’t look like we were that far from the shoreline,” Joanne told BBC News.
Austin took a kayak, unaware it had already been damaged and was taking on water.
“It started flipping, and then I lost an oar and I knew I was in trouble,” he told the BBC. “I started paddling with my arm.”
After several attempts to stabilise the kayak, it capsized for the final time.
Austin clung to it before realising he would have to swim. “It was getting dangerous now. I had been out for a couple of hours,” he said.
He eventually abandoned both the kayak and his life jacket, which he said was slowing him down, and began swimming the final 4km (two nautical miles) toward shore.
By then, he had lost sight of his family, and they had lost sight of him.
Out at sea, Joanne and the two younger children continued to drift, eventually reaching 14km (8.5 miles) offshore, police said. Although they were wearing life jackets, they had no food or water, and the waves were growing larger as darkness fell.
“I had assumed Austin had made it a lot quicker than he had,” Joanne told the BBC. “As the day progressed, no vessels and nothing coming to save us.”
As Austin swam through fading light, he said prayer, Christian songs and “happy thoughts” kept him going. “I was thinking about mum, Beau and Grace,” he said. “I was also thinking about my friends and my girlfriend, I have a really good bunch of friends.”
“When I hit the floor I thought, how am I on land right now — is this a dream?” he added.
Then, he said, another thought followed: his family “could still be alive out there, I have to go save them”.
At around 18:00 local time, Austin reached shore, located his mother’s bag and called emergency services. Western Australia Police said the call triggered a large-scale marine and aerial search.
Austin collapsed soon after and was taken to hospital, where he called his father, “bawling his eyes out”, still unaware whether his mother and siblings had survived, according to BBC News.
Minutes later, he received confirmation they had been rescued. “Everyone — doctors and police officers — were jumping up and down with joy,” Austin said. “It was a moment I will never forget.”
Joanne said even the sight of the rescue boat brought fresh fear, as her younger children slipped into the water while she tried to hold onto them.
“It was an absolute nightmare,” she told the BBC.
Joanne and Austin with Beau, 12, and Grace, eight (ABC News/Briana Shepherd)
All four were treated at hospital for minor injuries. Austin later returned to school on crutches, suffering severe leg soreness.
Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue Group commander Paul Bresland praised the teenager’s actions as “superhuman”, telling the media he assumed Austin “must be a strong swimmer”.
However, Bresland later said he was told by Austin’s father that the boy had just completed VacSwim, and had failed the assessment, according to ABC News.
Royal Life Saving WA chief executive Peter Leaversuch said Austin’s actions had eclipsed any formal evaluation. “I had a chuckle (about the VacSwim stuff),” he told 7NEWS.com.au. “I accept the irony of it. Clearly he can do it and I’ll be the first to hand him the bronze medallion. His heroic act outstrips any performance test.”
VacSwim, a government-backed water safety programme that teaches children survival and rescue skills, has faced falling enrolments in recent years. Leaverssuch said Austin’s experience highlighted why the programme mattered.
“These are foundation skills that set them up for life,” he said.
For anyone familiar with ‘Pip’, the animated short film about a small yellow lab who dreams of becoming a guide dog, fails his training tests and is dropped from the programme, resembles Austin’s feat.
In ‘Pip’, the small labrador enters the programme determined to succeed but repeatedly fails drills because of his size and clumsiness, ultimately being removed from the course while larger, stronger dogs qualify.
Pip-A Short Animated Film by Dogs Inc
The story turns when Pip, now working in a pet-friendly office, notices his visually impaired owner in danger during a medical emergency and manages to activate her alert system, doing the job he was once deemed unfit for.
Austin’s experience mirrors that arc.
Despite failing a swimming assessment, he proved capable in a real-world crisis, swimming for hours through open water to raise the alarm when formal benchmarks fell away.
Austin said his parents had enrolled him in swimming lessons from the age of four. “I’ve always learnt to swim,” he said on Tuesday. “If I fall into the water, the likelihood of me swimming back up to the surface and start treading water, I can always do that.”
Joanne said swimming education had always been non-negotiable for her family. “This land is surrounded by water and if [the kids are] going to be on the beach they have to learn how to swim,” she told BBC News.
Austin, meanwhile, has rejected the label of hero. “I didn’t think I was a hero — I just did what I did,” he said.