A young boy and his family are thanking their lucky stars after some quick thinking by members of the Wynnum Manly Seagulls squad averted a potentially heart-breaking situation on the weekend.
Lachlan Maranta, who signed with Wynnum Manly before the 2020 season, and his fellow squad mates Sebastian Winters-Chang and Tom Farr received praise for their brave actions in rescuing a young swimmer who was struggling in the water while the players were taking part in a pre-season camp on the Gold Coast.
Maranta, who was training alongside his team mates further along the beach, said he swam to the boy’s aid after being made aware of the danger by seeing former surf lifesaver Erin Lee – who later alerted The Courier-Mail to the incident – “running towards the water fully clothed”.
“Initially, I thought she was running to her dog, and that her dog had gone into the water, so I turned around, but then I saw the little boy screaming and his arms flailing in the air,” Maranta said.
“There was probably no time to really think about anything, I just ran over.
“I assume that anyone would probably do the same thing if that natural instinct came into it.
“Sebastian Winters-Chang and Tommy Farr were just behind me, luckily they were there. If the kid was any bigger or if it was an adult, I probably would have needed to use them for a bit of strength, but lucky it was a little boy, so I was strong enough to pick him up.
“He was just a bit shaken up, as you can imagine, and he was crying for a little bit, but once he caught his breath and realised he was back on dry land, everything was okay.”
Wynnum Manly Seagulls CEO Hanan Laban said he was relieved for the family and was proud of the way the players responded in the moment.
“I wasn’t right there when it happened, I was further up the beach with the staff… the boys were doing a training session, they were doing relays into the water… and there was a lady who started running into the water,” Laban said.
“Lachie, who was in the middle of a relay, saw the lady run into the water and what triggered him was he saw she was fully clothed, so he thought something must be up, and that’s when he turned around and saw the kid, thankfully he was there, otherwise, it would have been pretty scary for the family.
“They were in the middle of a training session, so for them to have their heads on and notice something that was more serious than what they were doing and to address it was pleasing to see.
“(We are) just glad the kid is okay and the parents, the family, can be relieved that he is okay, I am sure it would have been scary.”
With the dramatic beach rescue becoming an unforgettable, and thankfully positive, memory from the annual Seagulls training camp, Maranta joked it was lucky he had been listening to the advice of coaches during their earlier training session.
“One of the other [Wynnum Manly Seagulls players] got caught in the same little gutter (in the sand)… and one of the boys needed some help to get out,” Maranta said of the spot on the beach where he made the rescue.
“We had an ex-ironman I think he was taking us through those exercises (earlier in the day) and he told us a way to navigate against it so we didn’t get caught in it.
“I don’t listen to too many coaches either, but he was probably a good one to listen to."
Overall, Maranta said his second pre-season camp with the club was a good experience and a good chance for the players to bond.
“Camp was good, we did it last year as well, (this was my) second year, and just a good opportunity to get away and be together for two days," Maranta said.
"I think everyone came out of it pretty positive; last year on the Saturday, we did a pretty tough beach exercise, running up the beach with heavy weights, so everyone was pretty excited to play some volleyball this year."
