Stranded California kite surfer rescued after writing ‘HELP’ with rocks

The pilot alerted emergency services, who evacuated the castaway from the beach, south of Davenport Landing, in Santa Cruz County, Cal Fire said in social media posts on Sunday.

The man got stuck due to “decent-sized waves” and pockets of no wind because the weather was unpredictable and “changing very, very quickly,” said Fire Capt. Skylar Merritt, of the unit San Mateo-Santa Cruz of Cal Fire, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“The surfer did not require medical attention,” he was just helped off the beach, the San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit wrote on X.

Merritt told the Los Angeles Times that the man was stranded on the beach for only a few hours and was not suffering from hypothermia or dehydration — common risks for anyone who finds themselves stranded in remote areas with no access shelter, food or water.

A rescue team consisting of California and Santa Cruz County firefighters and California State Parks crews worked together to extricate the man. Videos of the operation posted by Cal Fire on social media show rescuers being lowered onto the beach from a helicopter overhead and hanging the man, before being hoisted up by the helicopter and onto the cliff, where the firefighters seemed to be waiting for him.

The rescue mission was “quick” and “went well,” Merritt said. But he said the man should have told family or friends where he was, according to NBC Bay Area. The man was “really lucky” that the helicopter pilot noticed him, Merritt said, according to NBC.

Spelling “HELP” or “SOS” to attract the attention of passing planes and ships is a common trick used by shipwreck survivors to call for help. The National Park Service recommends that anyone stranded in the wilderness try to send some sort of signal to the outside world three times in succession – the “universal distress call” – such as sending a beam of light to the outside world. using a mirror or other reflective object. .