"Don't leave me, kid." Those were the words Gavin Bowden said to the boy who saved his life, as the pair clung to an upturned paddleboard in heavy surf off the north Devon coast. Gavin, 63, had been knocked flat by his own board and left floating face down, unable to move a muscle.
The boy holding him up was Oscar McCrae, aged 14, and he would not let go. Oscar said: "If I left him, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I could have helped him. I had to at least try."
The accident happened last April at Saunton Sands, a three mile surf beach near Braunton, North Devon, with no lifeguard service of its own. The story will be featured on an upcoming episode of Saving Lives At Sea, shown on BBC Two at 8pm on Tuesdays.
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A popular haunt for surfers and paddleboarders, it was unusually quiet that day. The sea was rough and the wind was up. Gavin, a lifelong surfer who grew up in Sydney, had the break to himself on a 10 foot 4 inch paddleboard, before Oscar paddled out on his surfboard.
