An Australian surfer says his Apple Watch Ultra is responsible for him being rescued after he was swept away by rough seas in Byron Bay, Australia. Rick Sherman was stranded at sea. However, he was able to use his Apple Watch Ultra to contact emergency services.
Australia’s ABC News reports:
Byron Bay man Rick Shearman was treading water in rough seas a kilometre offshore when he realised he was running out of options.
The 49-year-old’s morning body surf at Tallow Beach on Saturday had gone awry as he was trying to make his way to shore and got caught in the impact zone where the waves were breaking.
“I copped a couple of big ones on the head and was held under for a while, I started to panic a bit and cramp up underwater there,” Shearman said.
While Shearman is an experienced swimmer and surfer, he could not find a channel that would bring him to back to shore. “It became clear after about 20 minutes that I wasn’t going to make it back in and I needed some assistance.”
“I’ve been caught in rips before, many times over the years, and never panicked — just let it take you where it takes you and find a way to exit the water. But this wasn’t going north or south, it was going straight out to sea.”
Shearman couldn’t expect to be rescued by his surfing partner, who thought he had left to hit the shops. Luckily, Shearman realized he was wearing his Apple Watch Ultra. The wearable’s built-in cellular radio, allowed him to contact emergency services, who stayed on the line with him for an hour or so until rescuers arrived on the scene.
“At this point, I was a long way out to sea, I was being buffeted by wind and big swells, it was actually quite difficult to utilize [the watch]. I had to hold it up to my ear to hear what was going on and speak to the respondent.” Shearman was rescued and is doing well.
Mr Shearman said he wasn’t sure what to say when the emergency operator asked if he wanted, police, fire or ambulance.
“I really didn’t know to to respond.”
“If it wasn’t for being able to access that service in my watch I’d probably be bobbing out somewhere in international waters by now.”
The Apple Watch Ultra is designed to withstand the challenges of extreme sports and is certified waterproof to a depth of 100 meters. (The standard Apple Watch is waterproof to a depth of up to 50 meters.)
(Image credit: ABC News Australia)
