‘‘It was kinda shocking,’’ the 17-year-old said.

‘‘Knowing you’ve saved someone’s life, it’s pretty hard to get my head around it.’’

Ambulance officials were called at 6pm on Wednesday night,  in response to reports a female in the water was experiencing difficulty.

The 19-year-old female was part of a Catholic group making a general pilgrimage from Brisbane to Melbourne. 

Prior to the ambulance’s arrival, Daniel and his friend Kade Mace, 16, also of Kiama were involved in the rescue after they were walking home from surfing at another break and saw a struggle from a distance. 

‘‘We saw them (the woman and a man) struggling, but thought they were okay,’’ Kade said.

‘‘They drifted into the beach, and then they quickly drifted over to the side right near the rocks, then the rip got them.

‘‘They were copping waves onto their heads.

‘‘This other guy was about to go in, we said we’d go in.’’

The pair paddled out on their surfboards to help; Kade said they saw her and just reacted. 

‘‘She was crying and going crazy,’’ Kade said.

‘‘Dan put her on his board and laid behind her.

‘‘I was sitting behind them to make sure no waves broke on top of them. 

‘‘Her boyfriend was a pretty good swimmer; he was holding her up while swimming, trying to keep her afloat.

‘‘She was okay when she came out of the water... She got a bit panicky, so we told her to slow her breathing.’’

It was the first time the pair had performed such a serious action, Daniel saying he just reacted on instinct. 

Aside from ‘‘watching Bondi Rescue and stuff’’ Kade had done a first aid course at Kiama High, while Daniel also has his first aid certificate as part of his role as a surf coach.

‘‘It was really unsafe conditions to swim in,’’ Daniel said.

‘‘The beach was closed... No one was patrolling the beach to watch them.

‘‘I ran straight out, jumped in the rip and Kade was behind me.

‘‘I got there first... The male was grabbing the side of my board, and I started bringing them in.’’

According to ambulance officials, the patient was 

 taken to Shellharbour Hospital in a stable condition.  

A group representative wished to express their gratitude to the two young men who rescued her, and that the victim was fine, albeit still a little shaken. 

Kiama Surf Life Saving Club president John Ford described the conditions  as ‘‘rough to very rough’’. 

He said club members were training in the surf club at the time of the incident, the couple swimming just off-shore. 

‘‘The lateral current took them across to the southern rip, and immediately took them out to sea,’’ he said.

‘‘It was dangerous conditions - they really shouldn’t have been swimming.’’ 

He commended the two teenagers on their bravery. 

‘‘Just as we were about to go out there, the young fellas were upon them,’’ he said.

‘‘They had them into shore before we could even life a board. 

‘‘... She wouldn’t have made it, I don’t think, otherwise.

‘‘The bravery of the young fellas is exemplary.’’

Kiama council’s supervising lifeguard Andy Mole said it was concerning that the message of ‘‘no flags, no swim’’ on beaches wasn’t getting across to some beachgoers.

‘‘It’s disappointing that people are still swimming outside the flags and outside patrolled hours,’’ he said. 

He said it was fortunate that the municipality had local surfers and young people ‘‘who know the area very well’’, and helped when required. 

Council lifeguards are patrolling Surf Beach from Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.