SANTA CRUZ (KRON) — Much of the Northern California coast is taking a pounding as this storm has generated some gigantic waves.
That, of course, didn’t keep hardcore surfers our of the water. But five of them had to be rescued in Santa Cruz.
The swell was expected to reach 17 feet along the greater Santa Cruz coast on Thursday, but the breakers were accompanied by rough water and strong currents. That made for some tough going for surfers as several had to be rescued, says Santa Cruz County Central Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Breasher.
“We’ve been going all day,” Breasher said. “Just in this one area here, we’ve pulled six people out of the water.”
All but one of the rescues were affected by a boat dispatched from the harbor while a state park jet ski with a rescue swimmer on board could be seen patrolling the surf from Pleasure Point to Capitola.
Why were so many surfers getting into trouble out there?
“They panic, that’s all, the riptide thing is real,” surfer Scott Purdy said. “They get worn out and they panic.”
“It’s rough out there…a lot of paddling,” surfer Tim Daley said. “I’m tired.”
Water could be seen coming through the cracks on a wobbly Capitola Warf, which had to be shut down as a precaution.
The strong currents had many surfers getting out of the water, far from where they went in. That led to confusion.
After being reported missing, leading to yet another rescue response, a surfer and his buddy had become separated.
The search was called off when he turned up at home.
“Unless you are an accomplished surfer, it might be best to stay out of the water,” Breasher said.
As you might imagine, the beaches were more or less deserted today, but as you can see, there were plenty of folks coming down to take in the show from the high ground.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON: