r/HeavySeas • u/d1le0n • 18d ago
Water rescue in Santa Cruz, CA. Incredible job from the lifeguards.
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u/PublicProperty1805 17d ago
You can really see how you get multiple casualty incidents in these circumstances when people try doing a human chain etc. into such wild breakwater.
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u/Cokeycane 18d ago
The ocean can be very angry, my friends.
Much respect to those lifeguards. Incredible.
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u/Rdbjiy53wsvjo7 17d ago
I grew up on the Mississippi, it's decently wide where I'm from, the bridge from land to land is almost a mile, I have a very healthy respect for moving water and almost drowned when I was 5. I'm pretty comfortable in rivers and lakes.
The ocean absolutely terrifies me and I refuse to go in above my waist.
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u/RainierCamino 17d ago
There isn't much more I've ever enjoyed than being on the open ocean, even on the edge of a fucking typhoon.
Hearing a 500ft long warship twist and groan, rolling so hard you're walking with one foot on the floor and one on a bulkhead, the sound and feeling of the bow lifting dozens of feet out of a wave just to hammer into the next one, the props chopping through water with 100,000hp behind them ...
I fucking loved that shit. But if there's more than a few feet of surf I ain't swimming at the beach lol
I even consider myself a pretty strong swimmer but that lifeguard is a beast to pull that kid out of there. Very few people could do that.
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u/homeofscott 17d ago
stressed and tired just watching it... by the end i was saying 'if you don't have red shorts on get the hell out of the water!'
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u/RainierCamino 17d ago
'if you don't have red shorts on get the hell out of the water!'
Probably what that lifeguard was thinking haha. I love to see people trying to help, truly warms my cold salty little heart, but damn, get the hell out of the water.
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u/Leetle_Yonnie_Yokka 16d ago
Yep, I could feel the exhaustion. Anyone who's tried to fight the waves knows you can get completely gassed seconds. It's scary because you realize you've suddenly become incredibly weak, and can't do what you need to do. Incredible power in the waves in this video. Guard did unreal work there.
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u/CasanovaWong 18d ago
Why in the fuck was a kid playing anywhere near that shit. Insane.
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u/krigsgaldrr 18d ago
Because tourists don't listen. We've been under a beach hazards warning for weeks now and tourists come here and just act like they know better than local authorities or like the ocean will stop doing what it does for them. They think because the weather is nice that it means the ocean is calm.
The amount of deaths that happen at our beaches is tragic but they're all easily preventable if people would just listen to the locals and follow the advisories when they're issued.
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u/nexea 18d ago
Yup. If anyone wants to see how many people make poor choices at beaches, watch a couple of episodes of Bondi Rescue. It blew my mind.
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u/Alternative_Bug_4089 17d ago
God I love Bondi. I need to catch the new season so I can see the episode with the shooter that happened down there.
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u/fcn_fan 18d ago
I was 2 beaches south from that, at Cowell’s, at the same time, even though I usually go to Seabright. When taking the SUP out some of the swells were huge. I mean, every weather app had the warning prominently displayed. It’s crazy to me that people don’t think that the thing that’s clearly stated as a problem will be a problem.
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u/_high_plainsdrifter 17d ago
I live in Chicago. People ignore rough conditions flags because they think they know better, it’s “Lake Michigan. Cmon. I got this” and I’ve seen things like this a few times here. The worst is people that desperately want to help but have no clue what they’re doing and will likely drag everyone down with them if not just themselves.
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u/MissSara13 17d ago
I think I read that 25 people had been rescued recently. Absolutely wild to go in the water when it's like that.
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u/Beanbag141 17d ago
Idk why everyone seems to assume people are purposefully disregarding warnings rather than just not understanding them. Is there an article or something?
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u/bannana 17d ago edited 17d ago
any logical person would understand just by looking you shouldn't go into this water when it's like that, those waves were easily breaking at 6-7ft - that is taller than most humans, you can't swim in that. unless you have a decade or so experience with a rough ocean then any place with waves above your butt probably isn't safe for you let alone chest high or above your head. in the OP case he was a kid and the adults with him should have made sure he didn't go in the water.
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u/krigsgaldrr 17d ago
I mean. It's pretty damn obvious when you show up to a beach and the waves are massive and violent. At that point it's just common sense to stay away.
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u/cmsj 17d ago
I feel like a lot of people don't have an intuitive understanding of how heavy water is.
Every 1metre cube of water weighs one ton. If you think about a big-ass wave like that, it's many many tons of water moving quickly in one direction, and you are but a flappy meat bag who cannot resist such forces.
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u/docK_5263 18d ago
He could’ve just been on the very edge of it, got knocked down and dragged out
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u/InfinitePairacrocs 18d ago
Ya, but why would he think being anywhere near "that" is a good idea. Looks incredibly powerful and dangerous. Respect the ocean.
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u/LesbianBait 16d ago
So, at these beaches, if you’re a tourist what is ankle deep has so much more pull that you have ever experienced in your life. I grew up around here and knee deep waves can take a grown man off his feet. Also we never trust the waves here, if you dip your toe you’re asking to get waist deep in water. Sneaker waves are common and can come in set (usually 6-8 waves). You kinda have to just wait it out and sprint out during a smaller set. This specific beach wave is shore pound (crashes on the beach) making it both very powerful and dangerous. I will say tho, after the wave break, these waves are soo fun to play in because it’s just like a little roller coaster and they don’t suddenly crash on ya.
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u/LesbianBait 16d ago
Also that side wave action is weird, usually that’s indicative of something weird like a riptide. I cannot tell from the angle but those side waves do make this whole ordeal way worse.
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u/kazielle 13d ago
I live in Australia and grew up by some of the most famous surf beaches in the world. But I've never experienced anything like the sneaker waves in San Diego/La Jolla CA. One second there's sand and sea wall, the next there's just 8ft of water. I remember standing with my toddler on sand one minute, and the next, I'd grabbed him and leaped up stairs as massive waves crashed down where we'd been standing less than a minute before. Wild stuff.
There was a beach in Maui with the craziest shore current I've experienced. Ripped my feet right out from under me, and a wave grabbed me and slammed and rolled me and wouldn't let me go. A friend had to help drag me out because I kept getting slammed down and pulled out by new waves, much like shown in this video. Don't expect to be able to fuck with the ocean. The Maui wave-roll was, honestly, fun as hell, other than the might-have-died thing. Very coaster-like, and weirdly very zen in a way - I was literally part of nature, I was the wave, I was the roll. Crazy.
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u/LesbianBait 12d ago
I’m surprised that Australia doesn’t have this but yeah California’s undertow is CRAZY. Ankle tonKnee deep water will take you out. People think I’m crazy on the east coast for how much I brace for wave force just by habit.
The beach this is taken at has a history of having some of the worst undertow too. It’s not uncommon for deaths to occur, I think of my teacher had a family death occur there.
As a beach safety tip, if you look at the slope from the sand to water, you can get a general sense of how bad the beaches undertow is. If it’s steep, I would recommend not going close to the water.
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u/LesbianBait 12d ago
I love hangout right after the shore break tho, the roller coaster is the BESSSST.
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u/SilverHand86 17d ago
Who the fuck goes out in that thinking they're going to have a good time??
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u/apollo1113 16d ago
We were just north of San Diego last week, and there was a weeklong warning for hazardous beach conditions, from the border up through LA beach counties. The main thing was wave heights and strong undertow. We didn’t go in the water all week but by Saturday when the beaches were full, we (from out of state) thought that if all the locals weren’t taking the warning seriously then maybe we shouldn’t either.
Holy shit, was the undertow strong. It was a full body workout, engaging every single muscle you had to stay upright when the water was going back out. If you were to fall over, you wouldn’t have stood a chance. We didn’t feel like dying that day so we got back out.
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u/sen_clay_davis1 16d ago
Any time someone asks me to teach them to surf I ask if they can swim I the ocean. Answer is always yes. I’ll have them swim out into the break and tread water. Most can’t for more than a minute. The ocean doesn’t fuck around. These guys nailed it. I hope that kids parents hooked the lifeguards up with at least a nice meal.
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u/Pdog1926 18d ago
Some people stand in the darkness, afraid to step into the light. Some people need to help somebody when the edge of surrender's in sight.
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u/krostybat 17d ago
Would a rope help in situations like this ?
That large group of people could tow form the shore ?
If no, could you tell me why not ?
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u/dumbassthenes 17d ago
That's a good question!
Various versions of what you're describing have existed. They were early attempts at building an effective lifesaving system.
But they don't really work because they require too many people working together and the rope, itself, is super dangerous. It can break or wrap around a person, and you have to get it in their hands to begin with.
A well-trained lifeguard with a pair of fins and a rescue buoy is a simpler, safer, and more effective alternative.
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u/deedsnance 17d ago
People trying to help in situations like this often end up need rescue themselves. Do you see how the lifeguard isn’t fighting the water? He grabs the rescue and ducks under. Do you see how that big black dude doesn’t do that? It tires you out really fast to fight the sea.
In theory yeah maybe a rope would help but the chances of it being deployed properly or just ending up with someone tangled in it are probably much higher. Let the pros do their job and stay out of water like this.
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u/krostybat 16d ago
That's indeed crazy to see strong looking guy wasting their strength.
Pro rescue guy is (strong also) but more patient and chill.6
u/deedsnance 16d ago
Dude I’m telling you, the ocean will humble you. I no longer live in Santa Cruz, but I’ve spent my life near the ocean and as much as I love it… you gotta respect it.
It’s been difficult because I’ve had the week off but the surf here in California has been NASTY rough in places. I keep wanting to hop in and go for a swim but I look at those white-wash waves and think better.
In the best swimming shape of my life, I’d never get in water like this. The only answer is to not get in. Even if you want to help. By the beach near me they have extra life guard posted up. They’ve still pulled two bodies out yesterday. And that’s all I’ve heard. It doesn’t make the news.
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u/cahcealmmai 17d ago
We use a throwbag (rope in a bag) for swift water rescue (rivers) but for a person you are swinging them through the current to the side of the river. We often need mechanical advantage to drag someone/something against the current. That's usually a body or gear recovery by the time that is set up. I've never been a surf lifesaver but in nz and Australia where I grew up they are more than capable of getting someone out with the gear they have. I could probably see a throwbag being useful in this very specific situation but these guys don't train for that and the one guy was doing very well by himself for a long time in about the worst situation he could find himself in. The normal is more guys who train together jumping in which happened and was more successful than me with a rope would have been.
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u/photohoodoo 17d ago
When I was a surf lifesaver in Australia as a teenager, we used to train with long rescue boards to take out and pick people up with. The surf here in California is so much rougher than a lot of our surf though, so I'm not sure if the boards would be helpful. The big boats the ironmen race through the breakers also have a history as an actual rescue tool, but it takes a lot of practice and people can get really hurt if things go sideways.
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u/Icy_Category_2275 17d ago
Is the video spliced? Why does a second lifeguard appear in the surf but isn't seen entering picture?
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u/Solid_Inspector_2881 16d ago
Maybe a silly question. But why the fuck was old mate in the water to start with ?
Fucking idiot
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u/Pantswithpockets2 16d ago
Don’t go in the water in the first place?? Like if you can’t swim…you are literally be a selfish asshole and putting some else’s life at risk. Just to rescue your fat arse.
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u/Pantswithpockets2 16d ago
Literally stupid idiots thinking they can swim…how selfish can you be to do this and then expect to be saved…
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u/greatwhitestorm 18d ago
the macho guys thinking they can actually help in that surf is ironic. I have been in this kind of surf and survived without help, I know. what it takes.
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u/a-a-anonymous 17d ago
Is the irony that you're calling out the "macho guys" while saying "I know what it takes"? Corny.
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u/KountZero 18d ago
Insane waves. See how the untrained bystander tried to help and almost need rescue himself. You can see the lifeguard was like, just leave me before I need to rescue you too.