Windsurfer rescued off Point Arena
July 5th, 2010 | Published in In the News, Long Line, Rescue
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Press Release
On 7-2-10 at about 4:57 PM, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Helicopter, “Henry-1″ was called to Schooner Gulch Beach in Point Arena for an ocean rescue. A windsurfer was reported to be in distress. The Henry-1 crew responded along with local fire and rescue crews. Henry-1 arrived in the area within 20 minutes. The helicopter crew first located the windsurfer’s yellow board floating a few hundred yards off shore. The sail had been separated from the board and was located about a half-mile to the north of the board. The Henry-1 crew then located the windsurfer standing on a small swath of beach at the base of a 70-foot cliff, cut off from view from the bluff above. He was holding two sticks over his head in an “X” fashion, indicating some sort of distress.
The Henry-1 crew set up for a long-line rescue where the pilot, Paul Bradley, flew the flight paramedic, Scott Freedman, via 100-foot long-line attached to the belly of the helicopter to the patient at the base of the cliff. The medic and the patient were then flown via the long-line to safety atop the bluff.
The windsurfer, a 51-year-old man from Boonville, CA, cramped up after being in the cold water for an extended period and was unable to make it to shore with his windsurf board. He was finally able to drift onto the small beach at the base of the cliff but was unable to scale up to safety. He was assessed by local medical crews on the ground. He showed some signs of dehydration but was later released at the scene.
