It was a night of fun and celebration at Rosebud Beach for Sally Liu and her three other friends.
The group spent more than seven hours clinging to the two paddleboards before “miraculously” finding land on a small island on the opposite side of the bay.
“I was just thinking, how can we survive?” Liu said.
Liu said they just wanted to “have fun on the beach” while celebrating the completion of their VCE studies.
“When the sun was setting and it was getting darker and we couldn’t see the beach. We (were thinking) this is not good,” he said.
“We were in the middle of the ocean. We couldn’t see anything.
“I was thinking, I have to stay one night on the paddleboard and how can we survive?”
The teenagers said they just wanted to “have fun on the beach” as they celebrated completing their VCE studies. (Supplied)
Along with Rong Shi, Shirui Zheng, and Lee Li, the group joined the boards at one end to make sure they stayed together.
Liu said they spent the night supporting each other to make sure no one fell asleep.
“At night, each of us felt sleepy, but we knew we (couldn’t) sleep or close our eyes,” he said.
“We were screaming and then we tried to hit our friends and wake them up. All four of us hugged each other.”
A group of teenagers have survived a night on paddleboards in Port Phillip Bay. (Supplied)
From his hospital bed, Li told the ABC they could see helicopters trying to search for them as they floated in the water.
“We just saw some helicopters trying to search for us and that gave us some hope to stay alive,” he said.
“It was very horrible. We were trying to find some ways to save our lives.”
But they were soon pushed in the direction of Swan Island, near Queenscliff at around 2am.
“We put our foot under the water to see if we could stop (when we saw the island),” Liu said.
“We tried to stand up and touch the ground and we were able to. It was very exciting because we knew that if we found ground, we would survive.”
Rong Shi remains in the hospital awaiting the results of blood tests. (Supplied) The teenagers arrived at Geelong Hospital on Tuesday. (THE AHE/GREG DUNDAS)
The group found shelter under a hunting lodge before being spotted on the island by security.
For Rong Shi’s father, Jack, it was an incredible relief to hear the news of the teenagers’ safety.
“We’re still processing what happened, it’s a Christmas miracle so we’re very grateful for that,” he said outside Geelong Hospital on Tuesday.
“They were very cold, exhausted and hungry. But these children are very, very brave, so they are all together.”
For Rong Shi’s father, Jack, it was an incredible relief to hear the news of the teenagers’ safety. (new)
The group feels “very, very lucky to be alive,” according to Liu.
“The thing is like, I have to enjoy my life. It’s really not easy, yeah, it’s like my second life, I think I’m very lucky,” he said.
“It’s like everyone is giving us a second life so you don’t waste any time.”