The family was on kayaks & paddleboards when they were swept about 2.5 miles out to sea. 

After a conversation with his mother, Austin Appelbee decided he would swim back to shore to find help.

Appelbee says he prayed throughout the four-hour swim and told God he would get baptized if he made it out alive.

“I don’t think it was actually me [swimming]… It was God the whole time. I kept on praying, kept on praying. I said to God, ‘I’ll get baptized.'”

“The waves are massive, and I have no life jacket on… I just kept thinking ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming,'” he said.

“And then I finally made it to shore, and I hit the bottom of the beach, and I just collapsed.”

Appelbee says when he got to shore, he had to sprint for about a mile to find help.

According to AP, the family drifted 9 miles from Quindalup and spent 10 hours in the water.

When he reached the shore, Appelbee alerted authorities, who then sent out a helicopter to find his mom, 12-year-old brother, and 8-year-old sister.

Austin’s mother, Joanne Appelbee, said one of the hardest decisions of her life was sending her son to shore.

“One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was to say to Austin: ‘Try and get to shore and get some help. This could get really serious really quickly,'” she said.

Video credit: 7 News