Bravery award for rescue surfer

Saturday 15 December 2018

A young surfer, who single-handedly rescued a struggling swimmer by bringing her to safety on her surfboard, has been recognised for her bravery by a local society.

Ibby Gault, a Year 10 student at Beaulieu School, has received a certificate for bravery from the Jersey Humane Society after she saved a woman who was struggling in the water at St. Ouen’s Bay earlier this year.

Ibby was surfing in St. Ouen’s in October of this year when she noticed a woman struggling in the water. When she went over to the swimmer, Ibby realised that she was another surfer who had lost her board.

Pictured: Ibby Gault receiving her bravery certificate from the Jersey Humane Society. (Beaulieu School)

The woman “was having difficulty breathing and appeared to have swallowed a lot of water”, before Ibby managed to get her onto her own board whilst her friend retrieved the woman’s board and helped get her to safety. 

Members of the Jersey Humane Society - a charitable trust which recognises acts of courage in saving or attempting to save another person’s life - went to Beaulieu School this week to honour Ibby’s act of bravery. 

Those who attended the presentation were the charity’s Chairman George Thain, Secretary Ron McLean and committee members Roy Bullen MBE and Norman Le Cocq. Ibby’s “very proud” parents also went to see their daughter receive her award.

Pictured: Ibby's act of bravery involved a struggling surfer in St. Ouen's Bay.

Headmaster and CEO of Beaulieu Chris Beirne said: "We are so incredibly proud of Ibby and the mature way that she handled a potentially very dangerous situation.

"We are delighted that she has been recognised for her bravery and is being honoured in this way.”