A 13-year-old boy who was swept out to sea with his mother and two siblings saved his family by swimming four kilometers (2.5 miles) to shore for help “in rough conditions,” police in Australia said. The group were kayaking and paddleboarding off the coast of Quindalup, Western Australia, on Friday afternoon when they were carried out to sea, said the WA Police Force in a statement published on Facebook on Monday. The boy “decided to return to shore in fading light,” and paddled a short distance in his kayak before it took on water, leaving him to swim back and alert authorities at around 6 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET), said police.