Ray of Hope Strikes Surfing World as Four Australians Lost at Sea Found Alive

On 13th August 2023, four Australian surfers set out on a surfing trip to Indonesia to celebrate a friend’s 30th birthday. Then the four went missing off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh Province after their wooden speed boat struck through harsh weather en route to the remote Banyak Island. The next day, a search and rescue effort was launched to relocate the small vessel that went missing on Sunday on which three Indonesian crew were traveling. 

The four Australian surfers are Elliot Foote, Steph Weisse, Will Teagle, and Jordan Short, who were traveling along with eight other friends in two separate boats. But only one of the boats made it to the destination and the other one went missing. However, they found the four Australian surfers and one Indonesian crew member, but one surfing crew member is still missing. 

The missing Australian surfers found alive

When only one boat made it to the destination, the search team was expanded with the help of an Australian agency. By the night of 14th August, Australia’s Department of foreign affairs and Trade chartered a private plane to join the search and rescue team. On 15th August, Steph Weisse, Will Teagle, and Jordan Short were found floating in the water. And the other one, Elliot Foote, paddled to an island to seek help and was found later. He described his feelings on Instagram when he saw his friends as he paddled on the surfboard. 

He stated, “They were like waving and they’re like ‘Footey!’… I’m paddling to that island, but I’m not making any ground on it, I’m like: ‘What the he*l’ and then these guys (the rescuers) came back.” Elliot also texted his father, Peter Foote, telling him that he was alive and well and the text arrived when his father was interviewing with The Sydney Morning Herald.

According to The Guardian News, Peter said that it is very typical of Elliot to text like this, and it is good news. He also expressed his fear after hearing that his son paddled off to get help, he said that the wait was “horrible”. The locals were also involved in the search to find the missing seven and now, a plan of evacuation is under preparation.

Evacuation plan for the surfers and crew members 

Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, Basarnas make the evacuation plans for the surfers if necessary. Survivors have been evacuated to Pinang Resort and most of the victims were found near Tuangku Island of the Banyak Islands in Aceh Singkil. The head of Nias National Search and Rescue Agency, Octavianto stated, “We have prepared several points [to evacuate the victims] depending on which is the closest. The most ideal would be to evacuate them to Gunungsitoli [of Nias, North Sumatra] due to the better access.”

The Indonesian authorities stated that due to heavy rain and harsh weather, Monday’s attempts to find the surfers were hindered. 

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Elliot Foote’s father said that all four surfers were in good health, but Steph Weisse was a bit rattled. Following this, the Australian surfing prodigies praised the agencies for their desperate efforts in search. The hopes that the families were holding onto finally showed its bright colors when their children were found safe.

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