A four-hour swim to get help for his family
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (370616)
Rockingham, Australia
February 2, 2026 6:51pm CST
George (@deepizzaguy) entertains us all with his good news stories so I’m ‘borrowing’ his theme to tell you one of my own.
A mother and three children aged 13, 12 and 8 got swept out to sea on a kayak and inflatable paddle-boards. They were holidaying at Quindalup on Western Australia's south-west coast. The 13-year-old boy started to swim for shore. After two hours, he discarded his life-jacket thinking he wouldn’t make it if he didn’t.
After another two hours, he reached shore and raised the alarm. He was able to give a detailed description of the colour of the kayak and rafts and, after an hour’s searching, the little group were found clinging to the kayak.
What an amazing story! The mother is being praised as a hero too for keeping her children together in rough seas for that length of time.
The photo is mine, taken in the same area.
9 people like this
9 responses
@snowy22315 (202290)
• United States
6h
That's amazing. He must have been a super strong and determined kid. It's amazing none of them got attacked by a shark.
2 people like this
@Ineeddentures (15916)
•
5h
I never even thought about Sharks
It's not a thing we think about here
Whales washed up on beaches, yes
Sharks, no
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (117940)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
3h
I saw that story on the Microsoft news headlines.
@FourWalls (82603)
• United States
4h
What a brave boy! And yes, the mother is to be commended for keeping the other children calm.
@sallypup (67845)
• Centralia, Washington
4h
That teen is tough. I'm glad the story ended well. Your photo is lovely.
@Ineeddentures (15916)
•
6h
Amazing story right enough
For a 13 year old boy to do that was really wonderful
He had faith in himself
