Far South Coast life savers honoured

A boat carrying six people capsized off the Moruya bar in "awful" conditions early that morning. 13-year-old Georgia Vizovitis died after the vessel capsized – but Moruya and Batemans Bay crew members saved the remaining five people.

Ken Bellette, of Batemans Bay Surf Life saving Club, said the recipients were overwhelmed by the award.

“We’re still getting over the night,” he said.

“Surf Life Saving Australia recognised we achieved a very high standard of rescue.

He said the rescue had been challenging in more ways than one.

“It was a very sad day for all of us,” he said.

“All the guys performed really well, but there was one person we couldn’t save. It was a very challenging day with the swell.”

He credited their close-knit club for providing the skills needed for the rescue.

“We’ve all trained together, we all dive together, we do everything together,” he said.

“We’re a close-knit crew and we’ve been on the ocean all our lives. We felt honoured to give back to the community – if we were in trouble, we know someone would do the same for us.”