Drawn2Water founder Mick Austin talks about water safety

The Drawn2Water founder recently ran a free family fun day at the Ulladulla Sea Pool where people got to learn about water safety, how to be calmer in the water, how to hold their breath longer, how to recover faster, surfing safety/performing rescues, snorkelling safety/rescues, shark and marine life awareness.

"It was pretty much just trying to help kids and families to deal with any situation in the water - whether it's anxiety or fears with the ocean like sharks and currents - that sort of thing," he said.

"Why not," he said when asked why it was important to learn such water safety information now.

The day Milton Ulladulla Times spoke with Mick came more sad news.

Three people drowned on the NSW Central Coast on Wednesday, February 8, bringing the summer coastal drowning tally to 19.

Then on the weekend, a man died after being pulled unconscious from the surf at Shelley Beach, Nambucca Heads and another man died after being pulled unconscious from the water at Merimbula's Bar Beach.

Sadly yesterday [February 13], a man died while swimming at Kiama on Monday afternoon, after reportedly being washed out of the rock pool.

"It is just needed," he said about the water safety training he was keen to offer the community.

"You hear of so many people going to the beach and unfortunately you always see them in the most ugliest of spots where there are rips and waves - that sort of thing.

"If they knew how to read it [the ocean] they could be down there [pointing to an area on Mollymook Beach] in a quiet corner where there are no waves or swell."

He is planning his next free workshop and it will be held on Sunday, February 26 from 12pm to 2pm at the Bawley Point Reserve, which will be stress and anxiety-related - more details to come.

He said beach safety should "absolutely" be compulsorily taught at schools.

Mick, at the Ulladulla Sea Pool event, spoke about performing rescues and remaining calm if caught in a rip.

The Drawn2Water founder is not suggesting people put themselves at risk by going into the water and attempting a rescue.

"You are not going to sit there and say 'I do not know what to do and so I am just to let that person go'. Doing something is better than doing nothing," he said.

"If you think you will put yourself in danger - then the first thing you do is look out and yell to someone else straight away."

"The biggest thing is to remain calm," he said about rips.

He said humans, when it comes to swimming in the water, were naturally buoyant.

"We should not have to kick to stay afloat. So many people are scrambling and running out of breath but if we remain calm then we will generally float on the surface," he said.

"Staying calm means you can better assess the situation."

He said rips normally run in and out to sea.

"Normally to get out of a rip you would swim sideways to it - over to where the waves are breaking," he said.

He agrees that talking about staying calm in a rip sounds easy - until you are in one.

Drawn2Water teaches people about breath awareness which aims to help people remain calm in rip-like predicaments.

He has been "lucky and fortunate enough" to have never had to rescue people caught in a rip but has been involved in a few diving rescues.

At a recent children's education program, Mick shared a few things with the group about identifying rips and then they walked down to the beach.

The kids were able to point out straight away where all the rips were located.

Trying to become aware of how you are breathing is something that continually came up in the conversation.

Mick said our breath is linked straight away to our nervous system.

"If we let our breath go uncontrollably then our mind goes out of control and our heart rate goes out of control - we are anxious and stressed," he said.

"As soon as we bring our breath back into awareness, slow it down and have full control of our breath then that will help our nervous system will kick in and help us relax."

Another area of concern for Mick is the lack of precautionary safety measures by people when snorkelling.

"One of the biggest scares for me is I look at people snorkelling around rocks and boat ramps and there are absolutely no floats attached to them - no indicating marker," he said.

He said people think they are okay when they are snorkelling in shallow water.

"However, if you have a boat screaming past with the sun glaring in their face, coming into the boat ramp and a snorkeler is out a little bit deeper than normal then it's a really scary situation," he said.

Mick, from the monthly workshops, plans to take donations to purchase buoyancy devices [diving/ snorkelling buoys] and then put them at every boat ramp on the Shoalhaven coast for people to use.

"People can just come and grab the device, use it and then put it back," he said

Mick "grew up in the water" at Bawley Point - surfing, swimming and snorkelling.

He became a carpenter and fell in love with learning more about free-diving and the ocean.

Mick did a few courses and found he could help his mates.

"I would learn all these things to help people and I would bring them back home and share it with them," he said.

Mick describes Drawn2Water as a free-diving based business he set up with his partner Justine.

"Nowadays, however, we are venturing out to so many different areas," he said.

Mick along with Justine is getting into breath work - for stress and anxiety, meditation, surf survival and children's snorkelling programs - not just freediving.

"We are trying to incorporate anything to do with the water and help people in any situation," he said

People do have to pay to take part in the courses run by Drawn2Water but not for the free workshops.

"Each month in our community we will be running different workshops to suit different things for people," he said.