A dramatic rescue at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz is highlighting the dangers of powerful surf and rip currents along the California coast this week.
"I heard those waves come crashing in, and I looked out and saw just a head going back out," Santa Cruz resident Scott Vander Dussen told CBS News Bay Area.
Vander Dussen was at the beach Saturday afternoon taking photographs when he noticed someone struggling in the water and alerted a nearby lifeguard.
"The waves themselves, just the sound of them crashing, it demanded everyone's attention," he said.
Video of the rescue shows the lifeguard struggling to bring the swimmer toward shore as large waves repeatedly crashed over them.
The dramatic rescue at Seabright State Beach on July 25 was caught on video. Scott Vander Dussen/Viewer video"You could see that he had this like gorilla grip and was preventing that young man from being swept back out to the ocean even further. Any time there was opportunity, you could see he was making forward progress closer to the shore," Vander Dussen said.
The rescue lasted a little more than two minutes.
"The ocean has a lot more power than any human. And it definitely shows its strengths now and again. Yesterday, today and the rest of this week it's on full display," Santa Cruz State Parks lifeguard supervisor Bryan Kine said. "Big kudos to my staff for recognizing it."
Kine said his staff made more than 25 rescues Saturday, with the Seabright rescue just one of them.
"If there were no lifeguards on the beach, how many of those people wouldn't have made it home to their families?" Kine said.
Other beachgoers also entered the water in an effort to help during the rescue. Kine applauded their willingness to step in but warned that dangerous conditions can quickly put would-be rescuers at risk themselves.
The National Weather Service has a beach hazards statement in effect through Wednesday afternoon for the Bay Area and Central Coast. A long-period southerly swell is bringing an increased risk of sneaker waves, strong rip currents and large breaking waves, which could reach 10 feet at some south- and southwest-facing beaches.
The swell is being generated by distant tropical cyclones in the Eastern Pacific, according to the National Weather Service.
"I would say it was too gnarly, definitely felt it pulling us out a little bit when the waves are rolling back out," surfer Thomas Byrne told CBS News Bay Area.
Dangerous conditions are also expected along San Francisco's coast.
"San Francisco is not immune to these same conditions," San Francisco Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Jonathan Baxter said. "Over the next couple of days in San Francisco, we will be seeing increase aggressive wave patterns, rip currents, aggressive sneaker waves."
Baxter urged people to enjoy the ocean from a distance while the hazardous conditions persist.
"Always be observant, always use the buddy system," Baxter said. "And we highly recommend not going into the water here in San Francisco but rather going into the lifeguard-protected beaches here in the Bay Area. Your closest ones will be Stinson Beach and Santa Cruz."
Stinson Beach, north of San Francisco, is the only designated swimming beach within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and has lifeguards on duty during the summer. Farther south, Santa Cruz also has lifeguard-protected beaches, while swimming at San Francisco's Ocean Beach is strongly discouraged because of its dangerous currents.
Officials said no one was seriously injured in Saturday's Seabright rescue.
Vander Dussen credited the lifeguards for recognizing the danger.
"I'm glad that the lifeguards were vigilant. I see them out there every day. I have a lot of respect for them," he said.
The lifeguard who made the rescue is in his first season and was back at work Sunday.
Hence then, the article about dramatic california beach rescue caught on video as powerful surf rip currents hit coast was published today ( ) and is available on CBS sacramento ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Dramatic California beach rescue caught on video as powerful surf, rip currents hit coast )
Also on site :
- World Market's '10/10' Kitchen Essential Looks Strikingly Similar to a Le Creuset Style Over 5x the Price
- Thousands march in Pakistan-administered Kashmir amid election unrest
- Una árbitra en el Mundial masculino de la FIFA: entre la presión, la misoginia y la búsqueda de igualdad