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UK tourist Toby Finneran was walking along the Sea Point promenade on Sunday when he suddenly became a bit of a local hero.

The 31-year-old from Farnham in Surrey had been in South Africa for three weeks and had not known that he would be saving the lives of two people while on his trip.

Strolling from Saunders Rock above Queens Beach at around 4:30PM in the afternoon, Toby noticed a young boy, “about 12 to 15 years old” grabbing the pink rescue buoy on the beach.

He said at first he thought they were just messing around, but when he saw that they were actually panicked, he jumped into action without a second thought, IOL reports:

“There were a few people watching, but nobody seemed to be doing anything. That’s when I saw a head bobbing in the surf amid the kelp. Without hesitation, I ran down the stairs, stripped down and grabbed the buoy from the boy, who told me his friend couldn’t swim,” Finneran said.

Thankfully, as an Ironman triathlon athlete with the South African Triathlon team called Embark and an avid surfer, Toby knew how to handle the water.

Image: Andrea Steyn

Battling a five to six feet swell and a strong rip current, Toby swam out between two rocks, helped by the rip current, and found the boy half-submerged:

“I gave him the buoy and spoke to him to calm him down and let him catch his breath. Then, I tried to swim with the rope of the buoy to pull him behind me. However, a big set of waves came in, and we were right in the crash zone, at risk of getting thrown onto the rocks,” Finneran said.

Then the buoy was swept away from them, but Toby managed to get hold of it after a big wave and hand it to the boy. Dodging wave after wave, and swimming with all his might to avoid the rocks, Toby did his best to keep the boy above the water:

“However, I soon realised that the strong current created by the same rip current that had gotten the lad into trouble was pushing us back out to sea. I swam sideways further and towards one of the rocks where I was able to hold on until another set of waves came that I could use to push myself along the rocks causing a few cuts and scratches,” Finneran said.

Finally, he found a shallow spot and got the boy out of the water, who he said was incredibly weak from near drowning. He said the boy was having problems with leg cramps, arms and chest pains, and he was concerned he could suffer from secondary drowning.

A bystander called emergency services and he spoke to his friend in the UK, Greg Neal-Smith, an orthopaedic surgeon to get help and advice on how to assist the boy.

And then, another crisis hit:

“As I was focused on the lad, I suddenly noticed a figure lying motionless face down in the sand. He was about 18 years old and I think he may have tried to save the boy.

“My heart raced, and I ran over, administering first aid with the help of my surgeon friend, putting the person in the recovery position and monitoring their breathing.

Thank heavens that the NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute) was on the way at the time, followed by the fire brigade and paramedics, who managed to treat that person for hypothermia and the other boy for secondary drowning.

Asked what he felt when he saw what was happening, Finneran said: “I didn’t have time to think. I just went. I don’t feel like a hero. I think that is what you are supposed to do. If someone is in trouble you should help. It’s your responsibility as a human”.

Good lad, Toby Finneran. Those boys might just consider you an angel.

Image: Toby Finneran

Toby couldn’t leave without a word of warning about rip currents, which he says are “hidden dangers” even to strong swimmers.

You can spot them by noting a channel of churning, choppy water, a difference in water colour, a line of seaweed, or a gap in the incoming waves.

If you are ever caught in a rip current, stay calm and do not swim against the current, rather swim parallel to the shore. If you cannot swim out of the current, try to float or tread water and signal for help.

[source:iol]