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Posted on 02/05/2026 11:53:46 AM PST by yesthatjallen
A 13-year-old Australian boy is speaking out after swimming alone for four hours without a life jacket in order to get help for his mom and siblings, who were stranded at sea.
"I just said, 'Not today, not today, not today. I have to keep on going,'" Austin Appelbee told Australia's ABC News.
Austin and his family, including his mom Joanne Appelbee and his two younger siblings, said they were on a beach trip on Jan. 30 and had taken a kayak and two inflatable stand-up paddleboards out into the ocean. They said they had planned to stay out in the water for about an hour.
Initially, the family said the ocean was calm but then the weather suddenly changed and their kayak flipped over and started to take on water.
Appelbee said at first, she tried to tow the two paddleboards and her two younger children but after the kayak began filling with water, she decided to send Austin ahead and paddle to shore to get help.
"In the beginning, it was, 'We're going to be fine and Austin is going to make it back,'" Appelbee said. "As time went on, I was like, 'Why haven't I seen anyone come?'"
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
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I’ve read elsewhere, when he reached the beach, full of foreigners, NOBODY would help him. Even though he was exhausted, had to RUN 2 miles to actually get help.
All he had to do was bicycle for a few miles and it would have been a Triathlon.
This story right here illustrates,
1. Why Australia is the way it is (poor judgement),
2. That younger Australians may have the capacity to make a difference.
I only have one question: Where was ‘dad’???
Ocean kayaking and paddle boarding is risky business. Mom should have never taken her kids out more than just a few feet offshore.
Yes, and all the Welfare Tourist lovers and Somali lovers attacked him online.
Amelia Sheila [the Australian Amelie] tells the foreign-invader-loving wankers to sod off.
“swimming alone for four hours without a life jacket”
Ever try swimming any distance at all wearing a life jacket? VERY difficult.
Also, salt water. “Swimming: Swimmers float higher in the ocean, which can reduce drag and make swimming feel less tiring.” (in SALT water)
Still heroic.
I got interested in this line of kayaks and ‘microskiffs’ some years ago. They’ve revised and expanded on the design, and it is said to be the most stable kayak.
It’s a twin hulled design with the bench running lengthwise. You sit on the bench (facing forward) with your legs extending down into each hull.
Gotta love the Amelia phenomenon.
Everything in Australia wants to kill you. Can you imagine what a kayak looks like to a lurking Great White? A snack with a chewy center.
They lived. They should praise Jesus!
“Gotta love the Amelia phenomenon”
No kidding. I watched the British one last week, then the French one a couple days ago. Now I have another to watch. Can’t wait for the American one!
The two I saw are SO well done. Amazing productions. The French one brought tears to my eyes with the Before and After scenes of Paris.
https://x.com/Huff4Congress/status/2011978673331609945
Unbelievable that Keir Steamer’s govtards accidentally created her popularity.
I don’t know what that kid is going to be when he grows up, but I would not want to be the person trying to stop him or persuade him to give up. On anything.
Heroic.
Brave kid. The LORD bless him.
Probably working
It’s a miracle.The kid didn’t become a snack all that splashing while swimming. Maybe the kid was too small and under the limit.
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