"I was on a Stand-Up Paddle with my two boys when I suddenly noticed someone screaming for help.I checked the lake and saw that a small child with only one inflated swimming wing tried to hold on to his father’s neck, which caused panic. The father went under water several times, trying to hold on to his own child.
I abandoned my original plan to approach the father and child directly with the SUP, as I feared that the father's uncontrolled panic would put my own children in considerable danger. I decided to leave the board at a distance of about 10-15 metres and swim towards the victim. Once there, the father tried to use me as a buoy. I had already hooked the child and inflated the Restube, but the father hadn't realised that the tube was the rescue tool. I had to clarify the situation, keep him calm and place the Restube under his arms.
I arrived at the shore with the two of them completely exhausted and my boys were still sitting on the SUP with their mouths open, unable to believe what they had just seen. Later, when we sat back at the beach and told my wife the story, we still couldn't understand what had just happened.
My conclusion: If it hadn't been for the Restube, I would have had to decide in favour of father or son. This process would probably have taken 2-3 minutes. There is a 100% probability that the father would have sunk by then. Since then, everyone in our family wears a Restube as soon as they go into the water."
