Lifeguard was never in danger

Mr Oudard, who has been in the country since September, said the rip currently at Ngarunui Beach wasn't too strong. Photo / iStock

The French lifeguard at the centre of a search and rescue operation at Raglan yesterday says he was never in trouble in the water and believes the whole incident was a misunderstanding.

Romain Oudard, 28, is currently based at Mt Manganui Surf Club and was in Raglan visiting and to undergo some patrols with Trust Waikato Raglan Surf Lifesaving Club on Sunday.

He has four years' experience as a lifeguard, he said, having patrolled dangerous beaches in the south of France, but at no point yesterday was he in trouble.

"The surf was pretty good on Tuesday so I went for a swim and because I don't have a surfboard I thought I would just go bodysurfing.

"So I left from the tower [at Ngarunui Beach] and just swam to the point, and I was bodysurfing over there with all the surfers and at some point I was tired and the waves weren't too good anymore so I just swam back.

"I guess the guy who called 111, he saw me in the big swell and maybe he thought I was in trouble because I was the only one swimming ... but I was just cruising, I was just swimming."

Mr Oudard, who has been in the country since September, said the rip currently at Ngarunui Beach wasn't too strong.

"The rip was pretty weak actually. I'm a lifeguard and I have four years' experience in the southwest of France so I have good experience about rips and I know if I get caught in a very strong rip and that was not the case."

On his way in he noticed there were big waves out the front of the surf tower so he swam across so that he could catch them into shore.

Mr Oudard, who was wearing a red rash shirt, then made it safely back to the beach and was walking back up to the tower when he noticed two lifeguards driving an IRB.

"I thought 'oh my God there's a rescue', but I didn't see anyone when I was in [the water]," he said.

"Then I went up to the club and there was another lifeguard, a lady, and she told me we have been called for a surfer who lost his board and was struggling in a rip."

He then heard the informant mention the 'surfer' had a red surfboard and was 400m out in front of the tower - exactly where he had just swam in from.

"I thought this is just weird because I was just there swimming and I was wearing a red rashy, so I told the girl that it was probably me because it really fitted the time, distance and colour and everything.

"But they were very panicked, like trying to hurry to set up some other IRBs. A lot of people got called out to the club for the search, and the more it was ongoing the more I was thinking it was most likely me and probably a false alarm, and I was trying to tell them, 'oh it was most probably me', but they were not really listening, they were more focussed on the search."

After about two hours a policeman approached him about his story and the search was slowly scaled back before it was officially called off about 4.20pm.

Mr Oudard, who has a one-year working visa in New Zealand, is still to decide whether to take up lifeguard work in Katikati or a beach in the Hawke's Bay for the summer.