A St Dogmaels teenager who emigrated to Australia with his family has been praised for his courage and quick thinking after carrying out a daring rescue in heavy seas off Queensland.
Louie Greenland, 19, and his pal Remy Roberts were out on their jet skis near the notorious Noosa Bar in July 2024 when they saw a whale-watching boat hit by a freak wave.
The inflatable rib was badly damaged and two women flung from their seats suffered serious injuries.
Having pulled alongside and scrambled aboard the craft, Mr Greenland took charge of the situation and carried out first aid on one of the injured passengers, while Mr Roberts retrieved life-saving equipment swept overboard as well as Mr Greenland's jet ski.
The pair, who were said to have probably saved the lives of both women, then assisted the shaken skipper in guiding the boat back to shore, where emergency services were waiting.
15 months after the drama, the pair travelled to Parliament House in Brisbane for the Australian Search and Rescue Awards, where they both received an Australian Maritime Safety Award – an honour only usually bestowed upon members of the rescue services.
The citation read: “In recognition of their assistance to passengers and crew onboard boat in distress while crossing the Noosa Bar in July 2024’.
Recalling the rescue, Mr Greenland, a former Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi pupil who played junior rugby for Cardigan, said: “It was a pretty gnarly day out on the Noosa Bar when we saw this boat being copped by a big wave.
“When I managed to get aboard, I found two women pinned between the side of the boat and their broken chairs.
“I kind of went into autopilot – the next thing I know is I’m on the boat with some people in need of help doing what I could to make sure everyone got back safely.”
Mr Greenland is the second son of former St Dogmaels builder Matthew Greenland, who emigrated to Australia with wife Emma, and their three children including elder son Finn and daughter Beau a few years ago.
The family settled at Noosa Heads, about an hour and a half drive north of Brisbane.
In a Facebook post showing a photo of the pair, Matthew Greenland said: “Super proud of these two lads.
“Too often the young folk get a hard time in our community, but in my experience I can only say that everyone I have met have been polite, respectful and just want to have fun.
“It shows, in this incident, that one day you might need them!”
Rob Harries, the teenager’s grandad, who recently spent two months in Queensland visiting the family, told the Tivyside from his home in Cardigan’s North Road: “Louie reacted in the way a professional rescue service worker would.”
Mr Harries added that his grandson had used ‘every ounce of experience’ he had gained on both river and sea to pull off the rescue.
“Matthew and Emma and the kids moved to Australia just before covid hit and it’s worked out very well for them,” he said.
