Bravery and daring honoured
The little boy was clearly in the early stages of hypothermia...as he was pulled into the zodiac his lips were turning blue

Daring rescuers, Cadet MIDN Adam Anderson and AB David Gray who located an upturned tinny in apalling weather and saved three youngsters. Photo by POPH Bill McBride

By Graham Davis
A sailor and an Australian Naval Cadet who saved three boys, one just six years old, from an upturned “tinny” in 40-knot winds on Tuggerah Lake last year, have been formally commended for their actions.

On June 21 Senior Naval Officer for NSW, and titular head of the AN Cadets in NSW and the ACT, CMDR John Shevlin, formally presented his Commendation to AB David Gray, 23 and Cadet Midshipman Adam Anderson, 18 the senior cadet at TS Sirius (LCDR Phillip Anderson) based at Brighton-le-Sands in Sydney.

The presentation took place at the training ship’s annual parade and assessment before a large crowd of family members, naval officers, councillors and teachers who applauded the proceedings.

At Toukley on March 30 David and Adam were told three boys were in a tinny being swept away. They were on the sand because their cadet sail-training program had been called off due to the severe weather on the lake.

The two young men immediately grasped the gravity of the situation. While David readied the unit’s rubber Zodiac, Adam ran a kilometre to the cadets’ camp to collect a 25-litre caddy of outboard fuel, electrical leads and three life jackets.

Adam then manned the unit’s own aluminium rescue boat and both young men headed out on to the lake. They found the trio but by this time their tinny had overturned and they were clinging to the upturned hull.

The lips of the six-year-old boy were turning blue as he went into the early stages of hypothermia.

With his two 15-year-old companions, the six-year-old was quickly pulled into David’s Zodiac and returned to shore while Adam towed in their tinny.

“I commend you for your prompt action and daring,” CMDR Shevlin told David.

To Adam he commended, “You saved them from grave danger.”

At the time of the rescue David Gray was a member of the ship’s company of HMAS Success. He had volunteered to help the cadets with their sail training. He is now based in Canberra as a member of the Navy contingent of the Federation Guard.

.