Doctor saves six people stuck in rip

Not all heroes wear capes – in fact, some of them wear wetsuits.

Gastroenterologist Dr Chris Hair recently proved he is also capable of saving people outside the hospital, when he rescued six people stuck in a rip off the coast of Torquay, in Victoria.

Dr Hair, who treats adult patients with digestive health issues at Epworth Geelong, was checking out the surf at an unpatrolled beach on a Tuesday afternoon.

He noticed a group of people on surfboards drifting into trouble.

"There was no-one else on the beach, they had gone a long way and a couple of them had dropped their boards and started to swim to shore," Dr Hair said.

"Given the conditions, there was absolutely no way they were going to be able to swim their way in. I usually have a surfboard or paddle board in the car, so I grabbed that, chucked on a wetsuit and went out.

"I had no back-up, which was a shame, but I got out there and it was all good in the end."

Finding the three teens and three adults on a flotation device, Dr Hair said he made sure everyone was safe and not panicking.

"The surf was really challenging, and the rip was running out to Tasmania like a river, so it was a matter of making sure they were guided out of the rip in a diagonal direction and not swimming against it," he said.

"Two of them were pretty fatigued so I was worried about getting them to safety."

Dr Hair, a Torquay local, said the incident was an important reminder for beachgoers to check the conditions before entering the surf.

"I think they were pretty pleased to see someone out there who had knowledge about the ocean conditions and just the way it was moving that day," he said.

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