A 13-year-old boy swam 4 kilometers through rough ocean for four hours after his mother and two siblings were swept out to sea near Dunsborough, Western Australia. He ran 2 kilometers barefoot to call for help. Rescuers found them clinging to paddleboards 14 km offshore after 10 hours.

[u/Electronic-Bus-3494]

Austin Appelbee was 13. His mother Joanne and two younger siblings were swept out to sea. He tried a kayak first, but it started filling with water, so he abandoned it and swam. Alone. Through choppy water. As daylight faded. Four kilometers. Nearly four hours.

He reached shore, ran another two kilometers barefoot to their accommodation, and used his mother's phone to call for help. A major marine rescue operation launched. Rescuers later found Joanne and the two younger children clinging to paddleboards about 14 kilometers offshore. They had been drifting for nearly 10 hours.

Authorities credited Austin's actions with bringing rescuers to them. A 13-year-old with nothing but willpower and bare feet.

[u/caspergaming634]

Just to add. As someone who has ran many marathons, running and cardio have been my life. Swimming is a way harder exercise and workout and activity all together than running and it's not even close.

[u/sands_of__time → u/caspergaming634]

Not really, you're just not used to it (I've also run many marathons and ultras). Swimmers are able to train for hours a day, whereas runners are far more limited due to the impact forces. Professional endurance swimmers train much, much longer than professional runners precisely because swimming is easier on the body.

[u/artsloikunstwet → u/sands_of__time]

Yes, slow swimming isn't necessarily draining that more energy if you're trained and have the technique. But that's the point, the skill gap between ordinary people who "know how to swim" and good swimmers is huge, and the distance of a casual training set for the latter would be a death sentence to the former.

[u/mildlyhorrifying → u/sands_of__time]

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[u/Renbarre → u/mildlyhorrifying]

You lose a lot of body heat in the water, which makes it worse than running