Chalk up another life saved by the Apple Watch. A Massachusetts woman has shared the story of how Apple’s popular wearable saved her life while paddle boarding off the Nahant Beach.
The Boston Globe reports the unidentified woman was paddle boarding off of Nahant Beach when she realized the wind had started to blow her out to sea. The wind soon became too strong to paddle against, and instead of freaking out, she called 911 using her Apple Watch. She was connected to the Lynn, Massachusetts fire department.
The woman then told the dispatcher that she was drifting away from the shore.
“The wind blew her way off the beach,” said Swampscott Police Sergeant Bill Waters.
The woman told the dispatcher she was embarrassed she had to call for help, but the wind was too much for her to paddle against, and she was drifting farther away from shore.
“Ma’am, don’t worry about being embarrassed,” the dispatcher said. “You know what? It’s better you call now. Believe me.”
“I’m glad I have an Apple Watch, thank God,” she said. “How far off the beach are you?” the dispatcher asked.
“Now, I’m just getting blown further and further,” she said as the noise of the whipping wind grew louder. “OK, just stay on the line with me. We’re on the way,” he said.
The Swampscott Police Harbormaster Unit arrived at the scene and immediately went to the Swampscott pier and deployed a harbormaster boat. They found the woman several hundred yards from shore. The woman was returned to shore before she experienced any injuries.
The photo seen above is from the September 2017 Apple Event, where the cellular version of the Apple Watch 3 was launched. Ironically, paddleboarding was used to demonstrate the usefulness of the feature.
