It was a lucky day for Rick Shearman when he went into the water on July 13 – he was fortunate enough to be found and rescued after he was swept out to sea while bodysurfing big bombs at Tallow Beach.
A daily surfer, Shearman is an extremely confident swimmer and surfer and never in a billion years imagined he would find myself in need of the rescue chopper – there is a high probability that he wouldn’t be here today if it was for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.
‘They saved my life. I’m out there every day. I grew up here surfing – I just got swept out to sea, and I was out there for half an hour – not stressed – but I did try to get in through the dumpers and got smashed and held under water. I knew that wasn’t gonna end well, so I had to go out the back and got swept out.’
A call to triple zero
Shearman says he was running through his options and decided to call triple zero on his smart watch. ‘From then on I was in communications with them the whole time. I wasn’t fearful for my life, but I was extremely grateful for that. Without the chopper I’d have been absolutely stuffed.’
To say he is grateful is a huge understatement, and he is determined to say thank you in dollars to the service. Shearman plans to ride 1,000ks in his spare time over the month of October in the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service’s Base to Base, which is a virtual fitness challenge to walk, ride, run or roll a selected distance over the month of October.
Shearman says he is extremely grateful to all the services and services and agencies involved in his rescue. ‘Without them I wouldn’t be here.’
To support Rick and find out more about the service, visit: events.rescuehelicopter.com.au/fundraisers/rickshearman/base-to-base.
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