Simon Beardsell knows he may not be alive today without the efforts of the people who were around him when he nearly drowned.
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Mr Beardsell was surfing near Burrill Lake last Wednesday when things went wrong.
He does not remember exactly what happened, as one minute he was in the water and seemingly the next in Canberra Hospital.
Mr Beardsell was paddling back out, thinking that he could have surfed the last wave better.
Then bang - the incident happened and he was out cold.
Mr Beardsell thinks somehow he banged his head on his surfboard while taking evasive action.
"I was very fortunate it happened where I was [at the golf course reef]," he said.
Other surfers noticed he was "lolling" around in the water and quickly went to his assistance.
On land, others also helped and an ambulance was called.
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He said words could not do justice to describe the gratitude he has toward all the people who came to his aid.
He put a message on Facebook to thank all those who helped, and also to let them know how he was going.
"Total blackout" was how he described the incident, but he does have a few memories of being taken to hospital.
"I can remember a bit of noise, a mask on my face and a bit of fussing about when I was about to go on the helicopter," he said.
Mr Beardsell is an experienced surfer and the 53-year-old Canberran has been coming to the Burrill Lake area since he was a kid.
"This is the first time something like this has happened to me and when I am in the surf I do have my wits about me," he said.
He was in hospital for observation for several days and was released on Monday.
"I hope this is not the end of my surfing career," he said.
