A Canberra woman says she was only minutes from drowning after being swept out to sea off Short Point, Merimbula, when she was rescued by a Merimbula man and his mate on Sunday morning.
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Glenys 'Glen' McGuire, from the Canberra suburb of Forrest, said that when 28-year-old carpet layer Sean Westwood reached her on his surfboard she was "so far gone" she thought he was an illusion in her dying minutes.
"I was exhausted, I had nothing left," Ms McGuire, aged in her sixties, told the Merimbula News Weekly on Monday.
"I had gone under so many times and swallowed so much water, I thought I was gone.
"There were only minutes between the time he reached me and my time left alive on this earth."
- Glenys McGuire
"Then I looked up and saw this gorgeous young man in a wetsuit on a board.
"He was smiling and reaching out to me, I thought he was an illusion.
"There were only minutes between the time he reached me and my time left alive on this earth," she said.
The drama unfolded when Ms McGuire, who was celebrating her birthday in Merimbula, went for a run from the cabin in which she was staying at Short Point along the beach to Tura on Sunday morning.
Ms McGuire was almost back to Short Point when she saw what she thought was a collapsed sand bank and water from the lake flowing out to sea.
Not wanting to be left stranded on the Tura side of the beach, Ms McGuire tried to cross the channel that had been cut by council earlier that morning to open up the lake after Saturday's deluge.
"I was tired after my run, I had my sunglasses on and totally misjudged the depth of the channel and the force of the water," Ms McGuire said.
As she stepped into the channel, the force of the water knocked her off her feet and swept her out to sea.
Mr Westwood and his mate, Merimbula electrician Steve Butterworth, were in the carpark overlooking the beach when they spotted a woman in trouble in the water.
Paddling through the murky and churning water in a desperate bid to find the woman, Mr Westwood said Ms McGuire disappeared from sight numerous times.
Mr Westwood estimated that Ms McGuire was about 100 metres out to sea by the time he reached her, but they were pulled out even further by the force of the rip.
He said it took a terrifying 20 minutes for him and Mr Butterworth to reach Ms McGuire, get her onto his board, paddle out of the rip and back to the safety of the beach.
"The rip was massive," Mr Westwood told the Merimbula News Weekly.
"I was struggling to find her.
"I thought she was gone.
"The water was murky and she went under heaps of times.
"People [on the beach] were shouting out and pointing to where she was.
"Then I saw her head pop up.
"It was so full on," he said.
Mr Westwood claimed Ms McGuire had ignored warnings from people on the beach to stay out of the channel.
"People were yelling out to her 'don't go, don't go' but she went anyway," he said.
"The water from the lake was gushing out along the channel to sea, creating this massive rip."
Mr Westwood said Ms McGuire left the beach quickly and, despite an ambulance being called, did not require medical treatment.
Mr Butterworth said his mate was exhausted by the time he reached the woman.
"We were just standing up in the carpark watching what was happening," Mr Butterworth said.
"As soon as we saw she was in trouble Sean just grabbed his board and jumped in.
"If Sean hadn't got to her when he did I reckon she was gone."
"Sean was puffing pretty hard, he was in trouble as well," he said.
Ms McGuire said her two heroes should receive formal recognition for risking their own lives to save her.
"I thanked them and told them they were heroes but all they said was 'that's OK, anyone would have done the same thing'," Ms McGuire said.
"Without a doubt, I owe them my life."
Merimbula Ambulance station manager Craig Howker said the drama was over by the time the ambulance arrived.
"The woman was more embarrassed than anything," station manager Howker said.
"She didn't want any attention, she just said 'I'm OK, see you', and took off up the beach," he said.
Station manager Howker said it was important for people to exercise care during extreme weather events such as the weekend's storms and subsequent flooding.
"The message out of this is for people to stay well away from rising flood waters and rough seas during storms," he said.
Had it not been for the quick action of the board riders the outcome potentially could have been very different, he said.