Abalone diver rescued from surf
November 21st, 2009 | Published in In the News, Rescue
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Press Release
On 11-21-09 at about 9:54 am, the Sheriff’s helicopter “Henry-1″ was paged out for a “diver in distress” in the ocean in Gualala.
The helicopter crew assembled and flew out to the Mendocino Coast for the rescue. Cal-Fire, State Parks lifeguards and other rescue personnel including Cal-Star air ambulance, also responded to the area. The diver was reportedly swept out to sea and had been unable to swim back to shore due to the strong rip current and heavy surf.
The “Henry-1″ crew responded from their hangar at the Sonoma County airport and arrived on scene about 22 minutes later. By this time, the diver had been in the ocean water for nearly an hour. The Sheriff’s helicopter landed momentarily to set up for a long-line rescue. Pilot Paul Bradley flew Tactical Paramedic Rob Green out to the diver at the end of a one-hundred-foot static-line attached to the belly of the helicopter. Pilot Bradley placed Medic Green in the water with the distressed diver, about a quarter-mile off shore. Medic Green used a “horse-collar” rescue-strop around the diver and gave the “up” sign, signaling the pilot to fly them back up to the top of the cliffs. The entire rescue operation took less than two minutes.
The diver, a 51-year-old male from Lafayette, CA with 21 years of diving experience, was cold, extremely tired but uninjured and thankful for everyone’s efforts. The diver accurately recognized his dilemma early on and abandoned his weight belt. His dive tube and other dive gear were later stripped away from him by large waves before he was rescued.
