Distressed Surfers and Emergency Rescuers

Despite our utmost efforts in mental concentration and physical exertion in our drives or walks, Paul and I often find ourselves in the midst of unexpected events. For instance, last Sunday, September 3, we turned onto Harper Street, but had to inch forward, as four Capitola police vehicles were parked on the left side of the road, separating two young male drivers who had apparently been engaged in a heated confrontation. As known to everyone, Harper is one of the quietest and most uneventful streets in Santa Cruz.

The next day, we spent most of Labor Day leisurely attending to many delayed projects, such as answering and fulfilling patron requests for Rosanne Parry's titles, re-potting two overgrown orchids, replacing a lost credit card, etc. We did not leave the house until after 2:30 p.m.

Pleasure Point was our mutual choice of destination. It was a pleasant afternoon, sunny and breezy, with enough locals and tourists around. We walked to and from the Hook. On the way back, we saw a Live Oak Fire Department truck approaching. As usual, I waved enthusiastically at the fire truck, and received a reciprocal hand wave back. But not as usual, Paul asked me to stop, for he saw one of their comrades waiting with a clipboard in hand near the cliff rail. 

Paul's prediction turned out to be correct. Before long the fire truck parked a short distance before the popular tanning cove beach, with one fireman quickly taking off his uniform and changing into a wetsuit. He grabbed a surfboard and a red floatation device, and went down the slippery rocks to the turbulent water. Some distance away in the ocean, we saw two surfers remained where they had been stranded for sometime. The high tide and riptide had prevented the two novice surfers from landing. The first fireman approached them and was quickly joined by another one. Instantly, there also appeared a rescue jet ski manned by a driver and rescue swimmer. Two surfers started to move toward the tanning cove, with one on the rescuer's surfboard. The surfers were not alone in such distress. According to the local bystanders, they had rescued five surfers that same morning.

One fireman and the rescue crew on the jet ski remained in the water for a while, for there were still clusters of surfers around. Apparently, they were experienced and supported collectively, except one female surfer who was helped to the cove. After circling several times to make sure that the surfers were safe, both the jet ski and fireman finally left. 

So did we, feeling both secure and immensely grateful to those brave, hardworking rescuers. Meanwhile we are not so sure if it is really a good idea to merge several fire stations into one gigantic organization, especially on holidays when traffic is heavy both locally and on the highways. It will surely slow down the response time when every second counts to save a life.