Police say two holidaymakers are lucky to be alive after being rescued following a three-hour ordeal in cold waters south-west of Melbourne on Christmas Day.
The 51-year-old woman and her 17-year-old stepson set out from a Portarlington caravan park jetty about 3pm on new paddleboards they had just received as gifts.
A family member raised the alarm when the pair had not returned two hours later.
The officer-in-charge of the water police, Acting Senior Sergeant Michael Quirk, said the pair had been swept away in the choppy conditions, including strong south-westerly winds reaching up to 35 knots.
He said a large-scale search was launched involving the police chopper, water police boats, the Queenscliff volunteer coastguard and a Surf Lifesaving Victoria rescue helicopter.
“The search area was quite large given the time frames and the distance someone could move in those sorts of conditions,” Acting Senior Sergeant Quirk said.
He said the police air wing spotted the pair about 6:20pm, clinging to their paddleboards with their arms linked about 10 kilometres from where they had set off.
“Our police helicopter maintained observations of the persons in distress, dropped some smoke for us as well to mark their position, and we were able to guide a police vessel to their location and safely rescue them.”
The pair was rescued after they were found in waters near Wyndham Harbour. (ABC News)
He said the pair were checked by paramedics and showed some signs of mild hypothermia, but they did not need to go to hospital.
“It was cold, the water temperature was about 17 degrees as well.
“They certainly weren’t equipped for that environment or those conditions either.”
Acting Senior Sergeant Quirk said the pair did not have life jackets, and it was “extremely lucky” they managed to keep hold of their boards to stay afloat.
“If they were separated from their boards, it would have been very different.
“No doubt their lives were saved … given the conditions, and they were probably at some point moving further away from land, and there was no other real assistance out there for them.”
Michael Quirk says the mother and stepson are lucky to have survived after getting swept out into the bay. (ABC News)
He said it was one of the more challenging rescues he has been involved in.
“You can imagine with crashing swell and things like that, it creates a lot of disturbances on the water. Visibility wasn’t good last night, and we’re just fortunate in this state to have probably three of the most capable helicopters assigned to Victoria Police.
“They’ve got extremely intricate, really good technology with their cameras, and they did a fantastic job finding them.”
He said he spoke to the pair on Friday morning.
“I think they understand the gravity of the situation they were in, and potentially it could have gone the other way as well.”
The mother and stepson released a statement thanking all those involved with saving their lives.
“We are so grateful for the outcome but still trying to come to terms with how quickly a beautiful, carefree afternoon turned into an almost tragedy,” they said.
“We are exhausted, very shaken and feel so lucky we were able to stay together.
Kayakers rescued off Bass Coast
Acting Senior Sergeant Quirk said the mother and stepson were among six people whose lives were saved on Christmas Day.
Three kayakers were dramatically winched to safety after they drifted out to sea off the Bass Coast on Thursday.
A Life Saving Victoria spokesperson said the three women had to be rescued from choppy waters near Corinella, near Phillip Island, on Melbourne’s south-east.
All three women were wearing life jackets.
The spokesperson issued a reminder that kayaking requires constant awareness and good decision-making, as conditions can change quickly.
Acting Senior Sergeant Quirk said an overdue kayaker was also found after a long search at Paynesville on Victoria’s east coast.
“We encourage people just to make sure they’ve got all the safety gear,” he said.
“You’re still required to have your life jacket on, and we always recommend distress beacons and stuff like that. They’ll certainly save your life.”