The lifeguards had left Crantock Beach. Then Jackson heard screaming

Jackson had finished teaching a surf lesson and was heading home across Crantock Beach when he heard someone screaming for help. Two men were in the water. One was already going under.

A rescue on a lesson board

He sprinted across the sand. Both men were in difficulty, and one of them kept slipping beneath the surface. Jackson still had his lesson board with him, so he paddled straight out.

He reached the first man and got him onto the rocks, then turned back for the second. By the time he got there the man was barely moving. As soon as Jackson pushed the board underneath him, the man was sick everywhere.

He was not on his own for the rest of it. The man he had just been teaching to surf, an ex police officer, jumped in to help. He stayed with the first man on the rocks while Jackson brought the second one in. Between them they got both back onto the beach. The men’s brother was in tears, thanking Jackson for saving their lives.

“I just did exactly what I was taught”

Jackson put it down to his training with Holywell Bay Surf Life Saving Club.

“I just did exactly what Adam and the guys taught me to do. I asked them all the questions they teach us to ask. Told them if they felt unwell to seek medical attention.”

The account came from a club member whose sons have grown up training at Holywell Bay. In their words: “You have trained and helped me raise my boys over the years, and I am so incredibly grateful for all the support, encouragement and confidence you have given both me and the boys.”

The club shared the story with pride: “Amazing work Jackson, we are so proud of you and your life saving actions.”