I was swimming at Broad Beach on the Gold Coast of Australia. On most days the rip currents here are very strong. A rip current is where the water that has been brought in by the waves and then goes back out into the ocean, sort of like a river going the opposite way in the ocean. They usually move very fast and can take a person a couple of hundred yards in a matter of minutes. I was swimming out past a sandbar where the waves break; I was body surfing and what not. There was a kid nearby who looked to be about 16. He gradually began drifting further and further away from me. I thought he must be a good swimmer if he is out that far. He then started to yell for help and began waving his hands. The closest lifeguard was on shore about 500 yards away. I decided I'd better help him; it didn't seem like he was that far away from me until I had to keep swimming to get to him.

By the time I got to him, I realized how far we were. I remember not being able to see the shore. But I stayed calm, told him to relax and that I would help him get back to shore. I had no tube or flotation device which made the swim back brutal. I swam on my back and kept him on top of me with my arms underneath his arm pits. I swam him at least 200 yards to where we could stand. I was exhausted. He was very thankful. The funny thing was that the lifeguards saw the whole thing happen and told me that I looked like I knew what I was doing, so they just let me take care of it. Kinda lazy, I thought. But I told them I was a life guard last summer.

Terry Herlihy is an employee of Aqua-Management who is currently studying abroad in Australia.