It was watching over him.
Chalk up another save for the Apple Watch. A quick-thinking Australian body surfer survived getting swept out to sea after dialing emergency services on the life-saving digital device.
“It’s amazing that I was able to use that technology to save my life,” Rick Shearman, 49, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The Aussie had been partaking in a morning body surfing session at Tallow Beach in Byron Bay on Saturday when he got caught in the impact zone — the area where the waves break.
“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,” said the New South Wales native, who knew better than to fight the surf.
Instead, Shearman — who had been in similar situations before — allowed the current to tow him out beyond the breakers, whereupon he looked for a channel to make his way back to shore, Mashable reported.
Despite following the correct riptide protocol, the beleaguered body surfer found himself stranded half a mile from the beach with no discernible route back in.
He attributed his predicament to the fact that the current was heading “straight out to sea” rather than North or South.
That’s when Shearman remembered he had an unlikely lifeline — his trusty Apple Watch.
While treading water, the quick-thinking swimmer used the gadget to call emergency services, whereupon he was asked whether he needed the police, fire brigade or ambulance.
“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],” Shearman recalled. “I had to hold it up to my ear to hear what was going on and speak to the respondent.”
Despite being stranded at sea, the Aussie managed to stay on the line for an hour as he directed the responders to his location.
Shortly thereafter, he was fished out by a helicopter and flown to safety.
Rescuers claimed that if he hadn’t been wearing his Apple Watch the rescue could’ve taken days and involved multiple agencies due to the expansive search area. It would’ve also likely had a more tragic outcome.
Shearman, for one, is grateful he had this digital guardian angel on hand.
“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,” he said.
