AN AFTER-HOURS drink at the club took an unexpected turn for five off-duty NSW Surf Life Saving members who pulled a woman from a dangerous rip 80 metres off-shore near Hawks Nest.
The members, Phillip Everett, Stuart Daniel, Carolyn Jeffries, Anthony Logue and Sharon Taylor leapt into action just after 5pm on March 20, when they were alerted to the woman caught north of the clubhouse off Bennetts Beach.
The rescue has been awarded the Surf Life Saving NSW Rescue of the Month for March.
Mr Daniel wasted no time jumping on the rescue board and heading to the patient, while the others readied the inflatable rescue boat for launch.
The clock was ticking as the sun began to set with long shadows on the sand but not on the water, Ms Jeffries said.
"There were tricky conditions as well, as the poor lady found out," she said.
"We thought it was better to wait for the board to come down rather than taking the tube.
"I went to higher ground and made hand signals for Stuart because from water level, with the big waves, he couldn't tell where to go."
Mr Daniel battled a tricky shore break and chopping conditions before he managed to secure the woman on the rescue board.
Exhausted, the team arrived on the rescue boat and eventually pulled the woman aboard before racing her back to shore breathing and conscious.
Ms Jeffries said the whole team worked really well.
"We were so surprised sitting at a table upstairs in the clubhouse, but we didn't hesistate, we stopped, looked and assessed," she said.
"It was a natural thing to do thanks to our training.
"Good training facilities, good rescues."
The team will go in the running for National Rescue of the Month, from there they could become finalists for the SLSNSW Rescue of the Year.
