Bombs away: Andy Doyle prepares to leap into action from the helicopter rescue service.
ANDREW MATHIESON
ANDY Doyle can think of worse places than dangling on a rope hanging from a chopper hovering over a dangerous ocean.
“To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of things like roller-coasters,” he admits.
“Actually, I hate them because I don’t like that feeling of falling.”
But in the name of rescuing lives for Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service, Andy puts aside his aversion to heights and high speeds.
There are no winches on the chopper, just a static line, a harness and a lot of faith.
Then comes the plunge.
“I’m more than happy to step off because I don’t feel any fear when it comes to jumping into the water,” Andy says.
“It’s only a quick dive and at the end of it you’re potentially looking at rescuing a life.
“All of us confront that fear because it’s a very unnatural feeling to step off into nothing.”
The Anglesea lifesaver is the helicopter service’s spotter, looking out for distressed swimmers and surfers, boats blown off course and often sharks or anything that could endanger lives.
One of only 20 to make the service’s final cut from more than 800 lifesavers in Victoria, Andy had to reach elite targets in timed swims, runs, chin-ups and the “one-person drag” from shoreline to beach.
But the biggest challenge was perfecting a 10-metre platform dive to simulate free falling.
“I actually found jumping from the 10m platform a lot more difficult than I found jumping from the aircraft,” he admits.
Andy was just seven when he joined Anglesea Surf Life Saving Club’s nipper program before winning a 2008 Victorian Lifesaver of the Year honour.
But nothing could prepare the 25-year-old for his first rescue from the air.
Caught in the thick of pulling a man from an overturned boat in Port Phillip Heads, apprehension overruled years of lifesaving and weeks of intense rescue service training.
“It was one of those nervous moments; waiting for the time when the aircraft was going to perform a rescue,” Andy reflects, “and you knew that if the aircraft did get involved in the rescue it was probably going to be a hairy situation.
“After it happened we (the rescue crew) all looked back to our training and how far we’d come since the service started.
“It’s nail-biting because it really is a life-and-death situation, and, yes, there is a lot of panic but the level-headedness of the crew and the professionalism of everyone involved really shines through.”
Westpac, which funds the service, announced last year that a second Victorian chopper crew would patrol beaches around Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast.
The helicopter is manned every day from Boxing Day to Australia Day, every weekend until Easter and is on a call-out basis throughout the year.
A five-minute trip from Geelong Airport to the coast off Torquay can be a life-saver in the practical sense.
“The returns we get from the actual service far outweigh the costs associated with it,” Andy nods.
The apprentice carpenter volunteers more than 150 hours, including 100 every summer and regular patrol hours at the Anglesea club each weekend.
He smiles when he considers the commitment and its importance to safety on Australia’s most dangerous coastline.
“People down-play the talk about being a hero but I really do believe that not only every (helicopter service) crew member but every single lifesaver is a hero out there,” he says.
“You’ve got 13-year-old youngsters who put their life on the line every day to save people.
“Every single person involved in emergency services and the work we do is heroic.”
