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A Mount Maunganui surfer saved three people from a “horrendous rip” in Arataki last month, helping them avoid what would have been a “dire situation”.

Darren Kiwi, 52, was surfing with a friend at the beach near his Arataki home when he saw a father and two children caught in a rip. He guessed one was aged 15 or 16 and the other intermediate-aged.

“I could see the surf was getting bigger and bigger, so I decided to actually go in and maybe change my surfboard over to a bigger board that could handle the bigger waves.

“As I was walking in, in the shore break, I saw a family. I knew they were caught in a rip.”

He estimated the family was about 30m out from the shore, with the waves being about 2m.

He then saw the family get “dumped” by a wave.

“So I jumped back on my surfboard, paddled over to them and got a hold of the young girl. The father and the brother were out there as well, so managed to get a hold of them and just keep them all together actually.

Kiwi said he pulled the girl onto his surfboard. The father and brother were close by and were able to swim which was “fantastic”.

“We managed to work together to actually get us all [to] safety. It seemed like it took forever because it was a horrendous rip.

“The girl was in a very distressed state and I totally understand it because the whole family had been dumped by a good-sized shore break wave, consistently followed by enough solid shore break waves.”

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The incident happened in Arataki in Mount Maunganui. Photo / Mead Norton

Kiwi said it was one of the strongest rips he had ever seen and experienced.

“They were totally heading towards Motiti Island, that’s it. It was going to rip them right out to the back.”

Kiwi said it was a “really tough situation” and it took him a little while to recover from it after reflecting on what happened.

“It was actually one of the worst situations I’ve ever been involved in in my 35 years plus of surfing ... I knew that if I wasn’t there, I knew that they would’ve been probably in a dire situation.

“Afterwards, they all just said a massive thank you and went their merry way.”

Darren Kiwi was surfing in Arataki when he spotted a family caught in a rip. Photo / Mead Norton

The family tracked him down through Facebook and they met at a later date. They also dropped off a koha for him, he said.

“Prior to Christmas, I was just really thankful that I was able to give them another Christmas together.”

Data from Surf Life Saving New Zealand in the eastern region showed on Wednesday, Mount Maunganui rescue jet-skis assisted two people who got stuck in a rip after jumping into the water off rocks.

And on December 24, the Bay of Plenty Times reported at Tay St and Ōmanu beaches in one day, and assisted a dozen more caught in strong currents, all of whom were not swimming between the flags.

Darren Kiwi placed first in the aged 50-plus category at the national surfing championships in Piha on January 14. Photo / CPL

Kiwi, who has been surfing since he was 7, is also celebrating a victory at the national surfing championships in Piha on January 14, where he placed first in the 50-plus category.

Kiwi, of Ngā Potiki and Ngāi Te Rangi, said it was a “fantastic feeling” and he was “over the moon”.

They were “the best conditions I’ve ever surfed at Piha” and were “exceptional” for a surf contest, due to the size of the waves, wind conditions, and the tides.

In the early 1990s, Kiwi won a New Zealand surfing title so it had “been a while” between wins.

“Just really happy to achieve that result after such a long time.”

Kiwi, who grew up in Arataki, said his uncles were “avid surfers” and took him out one day on a longboard.

“And I stood up on my first white water wave so to speak and then it just took off from there pretty much.”

Kiwi, who teaches at Merivale School, surfs “as often as possible”.