Surfers at Santa Cruz’s Steamer Lane were praised as heroes after they swam toward a capsized boat and helped rescue six injured people until emergency crews arrived, according to the Santa Cruz Fire Department. The incident happened Feb. 6 during large surf, when surfers were catching waves along the Central Coast and a small motor boat moved through the area and collided with a wave, leading to the capsizing.
Vince Tuzzi said he was filming when he saw the boat speed past surfers and then capsize. Tuzzi said he recognized that something was about to go wrong and watched as surfers responded, including several who were still teenagers and in the water despite the hazardous conditions.
Tuzzi said about 10 surfers took part in getting the people to safety. He described how two of the surfers involved were 14 years old and how the rescuers pulled the injured passengers onto their boards and kept them afloat until help arrived.
Fire officials said that, in the incident report, several of the passengers were not wearing life jackets at the time. The report described the boat throwing two adults and four children into the water after the collision, and it said the surfers then worked to reach the injured people in the surf before emergency responders could take over.
Among those who came to the rescue was Darryl “Flea” Virostko, a three-time winner of the Mavericks big wave competition. Virostko said in an Instagram post that he knew the people had gone down and that it was “time to paddle in as quickly as possible,” adding that it “feels good to have a surfing community go into action together as one team.”
Virostko said he pulled an adult man onto his board while others worked to help the children. After the initial rescues, Tuzzi said harbor patrol boats and ambulances arrived within minutes.
The passengers were taken to the hospital and were recovering, according to fire officials. Fire Chief Rob Oatey met with some of the surfers this week to thank them for their bravery, the AP report said.