A 66-year-old Bathurst man died in an Easter Saturday boating tragedy near Port Macquarie.
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The Bathurst man, who has not been named, died at the scene of the accident on the Camden Haven bar.
Four Port Macquarie surfers put their lives at risk on Saturday morning when they went to the aid of those in the boat, which had overturned, their quick thinking and heroic efforts preventing further fatalities.
Sean Cumming and Kyle Jones were enjoying the expected large swells when tragedy struck, and both surfers witnessed the events unfold.
“We were in the water surfing and we watched them try and come through the bar,” Mr Cumming said. “They panicked at the wrong time and tried to turn but a wave hit them.
“Before you knew it, the boat just flipped, and we watched them flying out into the water. We shot across the bar; we were paddling as fast as we could.”
Mr Cumming said one of the men was holding onto the capsized boat before making his way to the breakwall.
“We saw him clambering up on the breakwall and we thought he was safe,” he said. “So we went and got the girl. When we got to them, they kept saying take us to the rocks.
“We knew that wasn’t a good idea, so we told them to calm down and we took the young girl into the beach.”
The good samaritans then put their lives at risk again by returning the water to rescue the girl’s grandfather.
“He was a bit heavier and he had busted his shoulder so we decided to float down along the breakwall about three-quarters of the way to Point Perpendicular.”
Two other surfers assisted in the rescue, but were too shaken to speak.
The two surfers were also visibly shaken by the incident, but hoped the message would get out to other boaters not to risk it.
“We sort of hope that if it were us, someone would do the same thing,” Mr Cumming said. “If we had been a minute later they would have ended up on the rocks and it could have ended a lot worse.
“It’s not a good thing to see something like that. It doesn’t sit well in your head and I don’t feel well when I think about it.”
Both said others should think twice before heading out, especially in rough seas.
Marine Rescue Camden Haven, Camden Haven Surf Lifesaving and Surf Lifesaving Mid-North Coast assisted with the rescue.
Incident co-ordinator for Surf Lifesaving Mid North Coast Ryan Rosenbaum admitted things could have been much worse if it wasn’t for the heroic actions of the surfers.
“Sadly one man lost his life but it could have been much worse if it wasn’t for those guys,” he said.