Rivermouth rescuers recognised

What started out as another day at Margaret River's Rivermouth Beach for Dilan Hankinson and Nick Grant quickly changed when a whirlpool formed and sucked in a 16-year-old boy, Holden.

All three were there to enjoy the water; however, it wasn't long after Holden entered hoping to go bodyboarding that he was dragged underwater and found himself in a fight for survival.

Lucky for Holden, Dilan and Nick are regulars at the popular spot, so were aware of the unpredictable conditions and the potential dangers it can present.

Everything happens for a reason, and Dilan says he went to that specific spot that day because he had a gut feeling something was going to happen after seeing how the river kept breaking.

“I saw a kid [Holden] go down and totally disappear and then I’ve looked at Nick and we’ve looked at each other thinking is he still in there?'', Dilan said.

Dilan then went into the water, whilst Nick remained on the edge to assist.

Despite initially not having the confidence that either Dilan or Holden would survive to tell the tale, fight or flight kicked in and they used what was around them to their advantage - Holden's bodyboard.

Dilan was able to pull the bodyboard out of the swirling waves, before struggling to his feet. Nick then stepped in, grabbing Holden's hand and assisting him out of the water.

In such close calls it's never easy to remain calm and think clearly and logically, however in Nick's case he was able to rise to the occasion, ''I wasn’t really thinking anything, just ‘ok if he pops up, I’ve just got to be there to grab him’, you know. Which is what happened, thank goodness'', Nick said.

With a background in surf rescue, Nick credits this in his quick thinking and response time, again reinforcing the message that training and keeping skills up to date is key.

"Definitely that sort of background and experience helped a lot. Someone without that experience, I don’t know, they could have been in trouble.''

Nick and Dilan's efforts will be forever appreciated by Holden and his family as well as the wider WA community, which is why both men received the Gold Medallion Bravery Award at last year’s annual Bravery Awards ceremony at Kings Park.

To read more about the other amazing lifesavers who were recognised in WA, click the link below.