In the bizarre battle to save five pals who were ‘stranded’ on a giant pink flamingo – after their $700 inflatable boat started drifting onto sharp rocks
- Five friends rode 1km out to sea on a giant pink flamingo
- Jet ski rescue required when dinghy came near rocks
- Buddies are undeterred and plan to put the flamingo back to sea
Surf lifesavers need to be prepared for any emergency, and that includes even wayward giant pink flamingos.
Five comrades who took the five-metre-wide dinghy a kilometer out to sea on Australia Day have spoken about their lighthearted rescue after having to be towed back to Stanwell Park Beach between Sydney and Wollongong on the NSW south coast.
The unusual vehicle, which cost the group $700, had begun drifting toward sharp rocks when lifeguards realized the five comrades needed to be rescued — whether they wanted to or not.
Flamingo’s owners, Blake and Kyle Lisk, and friends Mitch Loveday, Tye Barnes and Jayden Raval admitted they went a little further than originally planned.
Five men were brought back to shore on Australia Day after their giant pink inflatable flamingo appeared to be in trouble
Blake, who lives in Wollongong, said the group used flippers to propel the flamingo past the breaking waves, but then the shark buoy became an irresistibly inviting anchorage.
“We started with the westerly wind and got out a kilometer with the shark buoy,” Blake, 24, told the Daily Telegraph.
“We hung out there for a bit but unfortunately didn’t see any sharks.”
Dubbed the HMAS Flamingo, the flamingo was an impulse buy by Blake and Kyle when they were “bored to death” during the Covid lockdown.
“It was pretty expensive — about $700 — so Kyle and I took half that, but we didn’t take it out of the box until the holidays, after Mitch called and asked if we still had the Flamingo,” Blake said.
Five meters wide and three meters high, the floating boat proved to be a stable platform at sea for friends to enjoy a beer, cheese and biscuits.
After an attempt to tow the Flamingo failed, the men were driven back to the beach on jet skis
They felt so comfortable on the Flamingo that they turned down the offer to be towed back to shore by a police boat.
However, as the wind picked up, the flamingo began flying south at a speed that made lifeguards nervous that the large bird was heading for the rocks.
After an initial unsuccessful attempt to tow the Flamingo and those on board back to shore, the five men were jet skied onto the sand before the inflatable boat was brought in.
“If you had been on the beach yesterday morning you could have caught a glimpse of this now infamous giant flamingo migrating south faster than we think you expected,” the Helensburgh-Stanwell Park Surf Life Saving Club posted on Facebook .
The ‘infamous’ pink flamingo sits safely on the beach after its Australia Day revelry
However, Blake insisted things were in hand.
“The original (and executed) plan was to float from Stanwell Park to Shark Buoy, then let the NE wind pick up and drift us to Coalcliff (beach),” he told lifesavers.
Coalcliff Lifeguard Rob Deakin said the rescue was “preventive” on a busy day that saw 71 more rescues made.
Blake called the trip an “excellent exhibition” and said the group was considering buying an even bigger inflatable for another “adventure”.
Blake Lisk (pictured) said the Flamingo outing went according to plan, although the five men were rescued