What happened to Matt Richell?
G'Day PS, there was another thread on the event - think it was titled 'Take Care'. From memory no-one came forth that was there on the day. 'The Twins', however, are a fairly well known rock formation.
Thanks for pointing it out. His name was not mentioned so my search missed it.
From reading that thread, it sounds like he freaked and tried to get out over rocks. A mate of mine, who used to work for the air ambulance was regularly attending fishermen who had drowned. He told me the big mistake they make is to try to get out of the water (that is, those that can swim, and I won't comment on the others). By hanging out in deep water you can survive many hours till someone helps you out. But get your head smacked against rocks and its all over.
Yep, but swimming away from the land seems counter-intuitive so making that decision takes presence of mind. It's not unsimilar to non-surfers caught in a rip where the tendency is toward panic. And yet if they knew how water flowed, and importantly, had the calmness to go with it, their chance of survival is vastly increased.
Yep, have done it myself.
I watched my son aged 10 or so, 20 feet from shore caught in the rip at the north end of Curly . It was just a 2ft day. He called out to me, a bit nervous, so I grabbed our boards and swam out. By the time I reached him he was standing on the sand bar in water to his knees. A bit embarrassed but wiser having realized how quickly things turn from one state to another.
My thoughts go out to the family of fellow surfer Matt Richell, who as you will know, died on the rocks at Tamarama on Wednesday.
SMH says "Mr Hopkins said the water at The Twins usually washes people towards either Bronte or Tamarama beach but when panic sets in, some try to “get out” on the rocks." Was that it?
Can any surfers who know this area, or were there on the day, shed some more light?