I was surfing at Linda Mar Beach in the afternoon yesterday. Afterward, I dropped off my board at a friend's house in Pacifica. On my way out of town, I noticed there was a commotion at the pier so I stopped. A guy in board shorts had jumped off the end of the pier almost 1/4 mile from the shore because he wanted to "go for a swim." Mind you, the water is in the mid-'50s and I'm used to it and I wear a wetsuit and it's still cold. Most people will last no longer than half an hour before they get hypothermia and then they drown. Within ten minutes of him jumping the police showed up and an officer threw the guy who was intermittently clinging to a barnacle-covered piling a life ring. Barnacles are razor-sharp so he got cut up pretty badly for sure. Had the tide been going out at the time, they probably would have not even been able to find him. The water was also very calm. About 40 minutes after the guy had jumped the Coast Guard showed up and dropped a life vest and a rescue diver. After 10 minutes of wrangling in the water, they finally pulled the diver and the guy up and set the guy on the pier. A rescue boat did arrive after that. The guy was carted off on a stretcher shivering and yammering about how cold it was. He was lucky to be alive. You can't fix stupid. The other thing is, there's no money in the budget for lifeguards and rescue craft on or near many popular beaches. With us surfers, most rescues are done by surfers before emergency personnel ever shows up. If they need rescue watercraft in Linda Mar or in Pacifica they have to call for one from 15 miles away in Half Moon Bay. Several people drown here every year. The life rings that were installed near the pier are there only because a 12-year-old boy drowned there two years ago. A few people drown there accidentally every year and Rockaway right by Nick's restaurant is a popular spot for a final midnight swim.
I don't like taking pictures of people in distress so I'll only show you a picture of the Coast Guard arriving.
https://www.pacificatribune.com/new...cle_a8958da8-073a-11ee-a763-43611d2d7a76.html