From Hawaii to California, the biggest swell of the year has wreaked havoc.
On Black Friday, Hawaii saw wash-through sets at Waimea Bay, lifeguard towers inundated by rogue waves in the dead of night, pro surfers tackling deadly closeouts at Oahu’s Outer Reefs, and Kai Lenny doing Kai Lenny things at Jaws over on Maui.
Then, the swell continued west and hit California over the weekend.
On Saturday, a five-year-old girl and a 54-year-old man were on the beach near Half Moon Bay, where the infamous big-wave surf spot Mavericks breaks, when they were swept out to sea by a sneaker wave. The Coast Guard jumped into action.
Per ABC7 News:
“The five-year-old swept into the ocean at Martin’s Beach yesterday has died. That is according to the Coast Guard.
“The girl was with a man at the beach when a wave swept them into the water. Firefighters were able to pull her out, and she was airlifted to Stanford Medical Center, where she was later pronounced deceased.
“The man is still missing, but the search for him has been suspended. The Coast Guard spent 22 hours and searched 100 square miles attempting to find him. A beach hazard warning was in effect for the coast this weekend.”
In the official press release, Capt. Jordan Baldueza, deputy commander of the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, said:
“The decision to suspend search efforts is one of the hardest decisions to make, but our crews searched for nearly 24 hours without any sightings of the missing person. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this very tragic event.”
Tragic. RIP.
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