A Heroic Swim Through Rough Waters
As a kid, I participated in the winter swim team at the YMCA. Honestly, I loathed those practices. There were times when I begged my mom to let me skip. I even tried to outsmart the system by leaving my Speedo at home, thinking I could avoid swimming. That plan, however, backfired once, and I ended up having to swim in my boxers.
Whenever practice got especially grueling, my imagination would kick in. I would picture a shark lurking in the pool’s drainage, ready to chase me. It was a bizarre motivator—despite my tired arms feeling like overcooked noodles, I’d swim harder. The swimmer behind me? In my mind, they transformed into a great white shark threatening to pull me under.
Fast-forward to 13-year-old Austin Appelby, who found himself in a much more perilous situation in the shark-infested waters of Western Australia.
Austin was out on the water with his mom, Joanne, and siblings Beau and Grace, enjoying a day on a kayak and two paddleboards. Unfortunately, like many families do, they lost track of how far from shore they had drifted and found themselves being swept out to sea.
Realizing the danger, his mother stayed with his younger brothers while Austin tried to paddle back. But the kayak was too damaged to handle the rough conditions and ultimately capsized.
In that moment, Austin lost sight of his family and began drifting farther away, clinging desperately to the kayak. Everyone was wearing life jackets, but there was no food or water available.
He noticed something stirring in the water, maybe even a shark, but felt compelled to swim towards shore.
And swim he did. Austin navigated through 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) of increasingly turbulent waters.
For the next couple of hours, he kept pushing forward, reminiscent of Dory from Finding Nemo. “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming,” he repeated to himself. He focused on happy thoughts, prayed, and even sang Christian songs. He held onto the hope that his family was still safe and that he could save them.
“I thought about my mom, Beau, and Grace, along with my friends and girlfriends. I have some really good friends,” he recounted.
But, upon reaching the shore, Austin faced another hurdle. The beachgoers around him were mostly foreigners who didn’t speak English, making it difficult to get help. He ended up having to find a phone to call for emergency services.
After making the call for help, he lost consciousness. Thankfully, rescuers were on the way, and his family was ultimately saved.
Austin’s remarkable journey illustrates the extraordinary capabilities humans possess in dire situations—much like the stories we hear of mothers lifting cars to rescue their children. When faced with pressure, the human body can achieve astonishing feats.
Moreover, his experience shows the power of faith and positivity. He refrained from panicking, replacing fear with uplifting thoughts about his loved ones. Had he focused on the lurking sharks or the formidable currents, he might not have made it.
It’s hard to imagine ever facing such a terrifying situation as Austin did. Yet, no matter what life throws at us, we can all aspire to be like that brave Australian teenager. Even if we don’t embark on any heroic quests, sometimes all we need to do is keep going. Just keep swimming—it’s often all that’s required in life.
