A quiet and reasonably uneventful weekend patrol for Whale Beach SLSC members quickly turned into an afternoon to remember on Sunday 3 November, after an unexpected alert from a member of the public right on knock-off.
Club Captain Olivia Rees-Ewen had just jumped in to help pack up patrol when they were approached and alerted to a turtle upside down and in distress around past the rock pool.
“We sent two patrol members around to check it out and the jet ski was on-hand as well but when they got there, they realised it wasn’t safe to move it,” she said.
The turtle was too heavy for the lifesavers to move over the rocks, so they called the rescue into the State Operations Centre and NSW National Parks and Wildlife was able to respond to assist.
Like with any rescue scenario, the lifesavers stayed with the patient until help arrived.
At 4.45pm the team, along with Ben from NSW National Parks & Wildlife, was able to get the turtle on a spinal board and move it out of the rock area.
“We needed four people to move the turtle and six to hoist it onto the vehicle,” Olivia added.
After a successful rescue, the turtle – named Crush by the patrol – was transported to the Taronga Zoo hospital.
Wednesday 6 November 2024
