Youth says wetsuit helped them survive being swept out to sea in a rip at Tomahawk Beach

A youth swept out to sea while boogie boarding at a Dunedin beach was grateful they were wearing a good quality, buoyant wetsuit that stopped them from drowning on Christmas Day.

Speaking to the Otago Daily Times shortly after arriving back on shore, the youth said they were caught in a rip while boogie boarding towards the northern end of Tomahawk Beach about 3.20pm yesterday.

The youth declined to be named, saying “I don’t want my friends to know I nearly drowned on Christmas.”

They got caught in a rip while boogie boarding, but did not realise until they were too far out.

“I was paddling as much as I could and trying to get back into the beach because I realised, ‘oh, this is bad’.”

The youth eventually managed to get back to shore unaided about the same time as an IRB from the St Kilda Surf Lifesaving Club came on hand.

The youth was uninjured and had a summer safety message for anyone who might be hitting the waves over the coming weeks: “Get a good wetsuit. This one’s very, very thick, and it’s got a great amount of buoyancy, so I wasn’t going under no matter what happened.

Police talk to a youth who managed to get back to shore after being swept out to sea at Tomahawk Beach. Photo / Oscar Francis

“I think if you’re going to swim in very deep water, you need a good wetsuit that will keep you safe — and have family that will call the coastguard.”

A helicopter and police officers also attended Tomahawk Beach to assist with rescue efforts.