Brilliant blue skies overhead, golden sands and a sparkling ocean - it was exactly the kind of day Rod Mercer would have loved.
One year on from the sudden death of long-time Bulli Surf Life Saving Club member and his mates paddled out to remember him.
The 64-year-old husband to wife Marcelle and father to sons Kyle and Heath died suddenly after suffering a medical episode while rowing off Bellambi on November 16, 2023.
He had been paddling in the surfboat alongside his best mates and brother Chris.
On Saturday, November 11, around 100 surf lifesavers and Mr Mercer's family gathered to remember him.
At 11am silence fell for one minute and everyone who had gathered was left with their thoughts of the man who had been a surf club member since he was a child.
Then, they rowed out onto the aqua coloured waters for a paddle out. The sparkling ocean off Bulli Beach was where Mr Mercer's family spread his ashes and said their final goodbyes.
He was an "absolutely brilliant man", Bulli Surf Life Saving Club president Jamie Caldwell told the Mercury in the days after Mr Mercer's death.
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Nadine Morton
Breaking news journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Email: nadine.morton@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Breaking news journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Email: nadine.morton@austcommunitymedia.com.au
