In the quite pre-dawn moments they gathered this week hoping to be rescued, so they could help rescue others just like themselves.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This month Veteran Surf Project (VSP) is celebrating its two year anniversary, but the future of its life-changing programs depend on help from the government.
VSP offers surf therapy for veterans and founder Rusty Moran invited assistant minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite out onto the waves at Gerroa so he could experience it first hand.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be debilitating for Defence Force veterans, it can lead to intrusive thoughts and flashbacks; avoidance of people and situations; and hypervigilance with sufferers in a chronic state fight or flight.
"When people turn up [to surf] they often don't want to be around anyone else," Mr Moran said. "They feel pretty nervous.
"Some are no longer contemplating suicide but they're not functioning either."
"It's a therapy, but it's disguised as having fun with a bunch of mates. It's helping people who are suffering to climb out of the hold."
The therapy is a pain relief for many and it has been life-changing for veterans. They've reduced their PTSD medication, had less nightmares, returned to work, become more engaged in life, and reconnected with their spouse and children.
"It feels unreal because I remember what they looked like when they started on day one and they've started to get their function back," Mr Moran said of the success he's witnessed.
"It's become a circuit breaker for the way people talk about themselves as a broken human.
"I had text messages to say 'I'd planned a suicide date or considered suicide and this has changed my life'."
Mr Moran is hopeful the Department of Veterans' Affairs will adopt the surf therapy model for a national rollout, but he needs one more year of federal government grants to be able to provide enough research for it to be adopted.
"Our program won't be able to continue operating from July if we don't get more government funding," he said.
To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.