"I knew he was the strongest and he could do it, she told the ABC. I would have never went because I wouldn't have left the kids at sea, so I had to send somebody. The Appelbee family were on holiday in Quindalup, 200km (125 miles) south of Perth, when strong winds pushed their inflatable paddleboards and kayak offshore from Geographe Bay on Friday afternoon."
"Early on, we sent this young man [Austin] back in to try and get help because it didn't look like we were that far from the shoreline, she said. While Austin swam for the shore, Joanne and the children drifted further out to sea, soon losing sight of him. The sun set and the waves grew increasingly large. Wearing life jackets, they struggled to grab on to the boards."
"I had assumed Austin had made it a lot quicker than he had, Joanne said. As more time passed, she questioned whether her plan had worked. If he hasn't made it, what have I done? Have I made the wrong decision, and is anyone going to come and save my other two? But Austin swam 4km until he reached the shore."
The Appelbee family were on holiday in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth, when strong winds pushed inflatable paddleboards and a kayak offshore. Joanne Appelbee was in shallow water with her children Austin, 13, Beau, 12, and Grace, 8, when the wind picked up, they lost oars and drifted out to sea. Joanne sent Austin toward the shore to seek help while she held on to the boards with her younger children. Austin swam 4km to land, then ran 2km to a phone and contacted emergency services at 6pm. Joanne and the children drifted further, lost sight of Austin and struggled to hold onto life-jacketed boards as waves grew.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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