A 67-year-old man remains in a critical condition in the John Hunter Hospital after being pulled unconscious from the surf at Dixon Park Beach.
He was seen standing on a sand bar about 20 metres from shore at at 10.30am on Thursday before he was spotted floating face down in the water.
The man had been in the water for under a minute when lifeguards pulled him from the surf and began CPR.
Paramedics arrived a short time later and managed to restart his heart using adrenaline - they've praised the efforts of the lifeguards, saying it demonstrates the importance of carrying out CPR as soon as possible.
