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Heroic 13-Year-Old Boy Swims 2.5 Miles to Save His Family Stranded at Sea

By Emma Taggart on February 4, 2026

Most of us would do anything for the people we love, but a 13-year-old boy named Austin Appelbee recently proved just how far that instinct could go. He’s being hailed as a hero after kayaking and swimming more than 4 kilometers (around 2.5 miles) to get help for his mother and two younger siblings, who were stranded at sea for over 10 hours off the coast of Western Australia.

Austin and his family were paddleboarding and kayaking at Geographe Bay, near Quindalup, on Friday, when sudden rough conditions swept them out to sea. After losing both their oars, Austin’s mother, Joanne Appelbee, made the tough decision to send Austin to shore to get help while she stayed with her younger children, ages 12 and 8.

At first, Austin tried to paddle inside the kayak using his arms, but was forced to abandon it after it began taking in water. He knew he had no other choice than to swim the distance to shore. He started thinking about his family and friends, which helped him find the strength to keep going. The young teen recalled, “I just said, ‘Alright. Not today, not today, not today.’ ”

Austin had a life jacket, but decided to abandon that as well when he realized it was slowing him down. He then had to swim over two hours without knowing if he’d ever make it. “I did breaststroke, I did freestyle, I did survival backstroke,” he said. “At one point I was thinking of Thomas the Tank Engine. I was trying to get the a happiest things in my head to try and make it through.” Eventually, Austin made it to shore, but his exhausting journey wasn’t over yet. “I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed and then after that I had to sprint 2 kilometers to go get to the phone.”

Thanks to Austin’s bravery, his mom and siblings were found by emergency services clinging to a paddleboard in the dark. All three of them were taken to Busselton Health Campus and have since recovered. Marine Rescue commander Paul Bresland said, “Two hours without a life jacket on and yeah, he made it. Superhuman effort.”

Austin and his siblings learned to swim from a young age, and Joanne hopes her family’s story will encourage other families to do the same. “There’s no bigger word to describe him other than proud,” she said. “I’m speechless at his efforts, but at the same time, I knew he could do it.”