In separate incidents over two days, two people were airlifted after nearly drowning in Tomales Bay and at South Beach.
On Tuesday, a surfer nearly died off South Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore. The man had been surfing with friends who found him face down and unresponsive in the waves before pulling him onto the beach and performing C.P.R. After law enforcement and fire departements arrived and continued efforts to resuscitate him, they detected a pulse and the man began breathing. He was transported by helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Park officials said they were investigating the incident.
On Monday, the holiday, a swimmer was run over by a slow-moving motorboat in Tomales Bay at around 3:30 p.m. The boater lifted him out of the water and brought him to the dock at the Inverness Yacht Club, where first responders attempted to resuscitate him, restoring a pulse. Eyewitnesses said the man had been swimming with a companion who was uninjured. A California Highway Patrol helicopter lifted him to Santa Rosa Memorial, where the trauma team treated him.
The Marin County Sheriff’s Office’s Marine Unit will investigate the incident, and public information officer Brenton Schneider said the names of the boater and victim may be released on Thursday. No drugs or alcohol were involved, Sgt. Schneider said.
South Beach is a dangerous surfing spot, where the swell crashes headlong into the peninsula, but the day was remarkably calm. Seasoned local surfers know how to monitor the swell and understand the way the beach makes a sudden, steep descent into the ocean, causing a mighty shore break. Though the swell isn’t especially large at the moment, things can still go wrong.
“I wouldn’t ever recommend anybody surf there unless they’re really experienced,” said Luke Regalbuto, a Point Reyes Station resident who surfs regularly in the seashore. “I’ve been surfing for 20-plus years, and as soon as you get in the water there, it feels like you’re out in the middle of the ocean all of a sudden.”
When things do go wrong, it can take too long for responders to make their way to the seashore’s remote beaches. “It would be great if the park had more access to emergency services,” he said. “We need to have some kind of callbox or emergency alert system.”
Swimmers in Tomales Bay can wear brightly colored swim caps to make sure they’re noticed by boaters, and in the past swimming areas were cordoned off by buoys at Shell Beach, Chicken Ranch Beach and Heart’s Desire Beach, though some buoys have disappeared in recent years. The two incidents could have occurred in any weather, but high winds have recently caused dangerous days for boaters in the bay. On June 18, park rangers, the U.S. Coast Guard and local rescue officials responded to five separate boating incidents within four hours, rescuing 17 people.