Just had a fun hour out at ###### Cove enjoying lots of chest to shoulder high waves. The big excitement of the day was watching a guy get rescued off the rocks by a medi-vac chopper. There was a pretty strong northern rip and he got swept out there in a hurry. Talked briefly to him afterwards and luckily he's just fine. It was quite a show by the emergency personnel.
Here's a link to the story: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Surfer-rescued-from-rocks-near-Cliff-Hou...
We've all been in that rip, but was he in your opinion in any real danger? It was pretty small right?
I saw someone hail a chopper-cab a while back. I think he had to leave his board behind.
Seems like the danger is hypothermia+exhaustion as much as anything else this AM (even though it's pretty sunny in our 'hood).
I think @greacen is spot on. If you're gonna get stranded on the rocks, today was the day to do it. For OB standards this time of year today was pretty small. The main dangers are exhaustion, hypothermia and embarrassment. But once you're on the rocks I think it's pretty tough to get back to shore on your own, even on a smaller day.
See, afaik, ###### Cove is known for plan B when South/Mid is too crazy. I think getting used to big is a better deal than rocks for breakfast :( BTW, A strong South pull at ###### can also mess you up bad too heh (first hand experience). I've literally paddled for my life once. Don't ever wanna do that again.
I've been in that crazy NOB rip where you just got hammered trying to paddle out, only to find out that you now are fighting a rip to get back into shore. Exhaustion sets in and you're seeing stars. I get it. Sharp stuff, even on a small day, can be bad.
When we got out we noticed that the guy that got rescued just happened to be in the car next to ours. I asked him what happened, and assuming I understood his story correctly, the current took him near the rocks and then he got picked up and quickly whisked around to the far side of ###### closest to shore. Then he got taken for a ride all the way around the other big rock before it took him back around again to the northern side of ###### closest to shore. At that point he immediately realized he was f-ed and he paddled into ######, grabbed on tight and waited for help.
It's the small days when the unexpected happens--injury, trouble, etc. Out of curiosity, do Surfer-Citizens need to remit payment to emergency services for a rescue like this (as is now often the case in skier or climber rescues)?
I've always wondered if one could just swing north past the rocks and get out at that little stretch of beach by the Baths. Been in the situation of getting ripped north up there and thought about trying to take a little trip past the rocks.
@ redtim I bet you could get out by the baths, although it always looks madly turbulent in there. Otherwise, you'd keep getting swept into the bay and you could get out at China or Baker Beach. However, if I got sucked around like that, I doubt I would have the cool to wait it out for those beaches. Sounds like this guy was in some weird swirling current - which could be damn hard to get out of.
