Lifeguards flat out at Piha

By ALAN PERROTT and SCOTT MacLEOD

Dallas Chung has been swimming all his life and understands the dangers of the surf, yet he was one of four people who almost succumbed to the strong rips at Piha Beach.

The 28-year-old said he was close to exhaustion yesterday when caught by the rip for the second time about 5pm.

He had been swimming between the flags with friends and had not noticed the current dragging him along the beach.

"I was facing out to sea and drifted down the beach before I realised," he said. "The first time I swam back, but the second time I was too tired and had to call the lifeguards to take me back."

But the Parnell resident was too tired to climb into the boat and a lifeguard had to guide Mr Chung back to shore.

"He was swimming around me and telling me when to hold my breathe when a wave hit us."

By the time he was dragged on to shore, Mr Chung said he was utterly spent. "I've heard all the stories about people getting swept away at Piha, but I never thought it would happen to me."

In another close call, a man weak from fighting strong currents was seen to repeatedly dip below the waves before he was saved.

And a teenager admitted she and two friends were almost worn-out when saved by lifeguards on an inflatable boat.

Piha lifesavers reported one of their busiest days of the season yesterday, pulling more than 25 people from the surf in the afternoon when an outgoing tide caused treacherous currents.

Surf Life Saving Northern Region marketing manager Lucy Eglington said the man swept out to sea was so exhausted he was unable to pull himself onto a rescue boat. A lifesaver had to drag him to shore using a rescue tube.

Ashley Pata, 15, of Te Atatu South, said she was at the beach with seven friends when she and two others were caught by a rip.

The friends had been swimming between lifeguard flags, but a current pulled them outside the flagged area without them noticing.

Ashley, who is asthmatic, struggled for breath as she was swept away and believes she and her friends would have been sucked out to sea had they not been picked up by a lifesaver boat.

The incident did not deter her from having another swim.