A former Australian football star says he would have drowned in Bali if it weren’t for the help he got from a fellow surfer.
AFL legend Dermott Brereton revealed to the Herald Sun that he had been surfing at Impossibles in Bukit on May 30 with waves up to four meters high when his board leash snapped.
Lucky for Brereton, another surfer, Mitch McNear apparently heard his cry for help and took swift action.
“The waves just kept coming and in the end I was struggling to get under them and come up for breath. When he got to me I could barely hang onto the side of his board,” Brereton said.
“I was being knocked around like a cork in a washing machine and I was just lucky he was there. I could have been a goner.”
McNear, originally from Alaska, but now a teacher in Perth, says he also was “out of his depth” with the extreme conditions.
“It’s funny because I’m from Alaska, I didn’t even know who he was at first. But I think by the way he’s talked about it, his relief, he was very concerned that he was going to really have some trouble if he didn’t get a bit of a break and if someone wasn’t there,” McNear said.
Football legend or no, we’re just glad McNear was able to save the day.
“I am very, very grateful that Mitch was there. He was bloody fantastic. He was a bloody star. He was a very, very unassuming guy. He was a gentleman and a really, really good guy.”
