A 14-year-old Sydney boy and his family have saved two foreign surfers after hearing their screams as they sat down to dinner.
Under the guidance of his father Mark, David Campbell paddled out to the pair of Argentinians after they were caught in a powerful rip south of Curl Curl after dusk on Tuesday.
The Campbell family had been having dinner at their waterfront property minutes earlier when they heard the tourists' yells as they drifted past.
A third who also encountered difficulty managed to make his way out of the water as his friends headed towards the rocky headland at Freshwater.
David, a junior lifesaver, grabbed a foam board, reached the men and helped return them to shore, while his brother Angus and father helped from the cliffs above.
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Mark Campbell said he was proud of his family for preventing what could have been a tragedy.
"They would have been cut to ribbons or worse if they had have come in over the rocks," Mr Campbell told AAP.
"One of them was really tired; he was knackered."
Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steven Pearce said the teenager's rescue served as a powerful reminder that the skills of a surf lifesaver could be needed at any time.
"This was a remarkable effort from young David and the entire Campbell family who had the presence of mind to assess the situation and take action to help," he said in a statement.
