Auckland surfer who wrote HELP on West Coast beach reveals Hollywood movie inspired rescue plea
20 Feb, 2021 04:00 PM
6 minutes to read
Auckland s most deadly beaches.
Tom Dillane is a reporter at the New Zealand Heraldtom.dillane@nzme.co.nz@tomdillane1
In his last moments of consciousness after being smashed against Auckland s west coast rocky ocean cliffs for three hours, Ben Searancke admits he resorted to the survival guide of a Tom Hanks movie.
Remembering the Hollywood film Cast Away he watched a few weeks earlier he ploughed HELP in the sand on Auckland s Mercer Bay. And then he fainted.
His legs were gashed to the bone and his lungs clogged with sea water. He had tied a surfboard leash around one leg as an improvised tourniquet.
I was desperate : Surfer who wrote HELP in sand reveals movie inspired rescue plea Sun, 21 Feb 2021, 9:59AM
Ben Searancke recovering at home with his wife Jenny and daughter Sylvie Hariata. (Photo / NZ Herald) I was desperate : Surfer who wrote HELP in sand reveals movie inspired rescue plea Sun, 21 Feb 2021, 9:59AM
In his last moments of consciousness after being smashed against Auckland s west coast rocky ocean cliffs for three hours, Ben Searancke admits he resorted to the survival guide of a Tom Hanks movie.
Remembering the Hollywood film Cast Away he watched a few weeks earlier he ploughed HELP in the sand on Auckland s Mercer Bay. And then he fainted.