Geoff Helisma |

Last Saturday morning February 23 was a normal day for Erik Fink; like most days, he was at the beach checking out the surf and considering if he would go for a swim.

The Yamba man said he was very experienced when it comes to swimming in the ocean, something that he has been doing routinely for 33 years, since he was 16-years-old.

“I’ve been out in rough conditions where most people would not go, but I would never have considered going out on that day,” he said.

Here is Mr Fink’s story in his words.

“I was on the rocks near the stairwell, looking out with the other people, and I noticed two boys playing in the whitewash [near the shore].

“It looked like two kids in the moment being kids – carefree and having joyous fun playing with the waves.

“In a few minutes one of them got caught in a rip.

“I watched him … and noticed … he was trying to swim against the rip back to shore.

“After a short time he shook his head at his mate; it was an indication for me that he was going to be in trouble soon if I didn’t help him.

“…I knew if I didn’t go in exactly then he would have been gone within a few minutes.

“I ran back to my car and took off my shirt, shoes and trousers.

“I jumped in off a rock ledge into the rip to catch up to him.

“As soon as I reached him, my first goal was to create calmness within all of the chaos.

“I said, ‘Okay, you are going to listen to me; do as I say and everything will be fine.’

“He stopped and I saw a smile on his face, [as if to say], ‘Hey, wow, I’m just floating here.’

“I looked him in the eyes and we drifted out on the rip: ‘Most importantly, relax and exert as little energy as possible; feel the ocean’s buoyancy.’”

At this point, as they were being swept out adjacent to the rocks at the southern end of the beach, Mr Fink noticed someone waving a surfboard at him.

“I checked the conditions were okay and left boy for 30 seconds while I went and got the surfboard [which was thrown to him].

“I said to the boy, ‘Now you are going to hold on for your dear life!’

“We waited to go with the flow, to let the ocean push us in.

“Then we were about 25metres from shore and we started getting sucked out again.

“We were close to the rocks and my original thought was to not go near the rocks, to avoid scratches, etcetera.

“But I took the chance pushed him and said, ‘Go, go, go!’

“Someone else took him and … when I went to put my trousers on I got an ovation from the crowd.”

After posing with a young boy, who watched the drama unfold and wanted a picture “with his hero”, Mr Fink humbly got in his car and drove away.

That night, while Mr Fink was driving his taxi, he received a call over the radio from the boy’s mother.

“She was in tears and ecstatically grateful. She said, ‘You don’t know what this has meant to me.’

“It was a bit difficult to talk on the radio, but she conveyed her massive gratitude and thanks.”