In a resourceful act of self-rescue, a kite surfer stranded on Davenport Landing Beach in northern California signalled for help using a method as old as time itself. Cal Fire's San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit reported on Facebook that the stranded individual utilized rocks to create a large "HELP" message on the beach, which was subsequently spotted by a private helicopter pilot who contacted emergency services, the USA Today reported.
The stranded man was in physically good condition and was airlifted to get off the isolated beach.
Cal Fire's San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit wrote on Facebook, "A kite surfer was rescued off a beach south of Davenport Landing after being stranded. He used rocks on the beach to spell out the word "HELP." He was spotted by a private helicopter who then called 911. CAL FIRE, Santa Cruz County Fire, CAL FIRE Santa Clara Unit Copter 612, Santa Cruz Fire Department and California State Parks all worked together to complete the extraction. The surfer did not need medical attention, only help from the beach."
See the post here:
"That was a different type of 911 call than we usually get," California Department of Forestry Fire Captain Skylar Merritt told the Los Angeles Times. "At the very least, the helicopter that spotted him made it much quicker, where he didn't have to worry about hypothermia or dehydration."
Merritt told the Los Angeles Times that the rescued man was an experienced windsurfer but that conditions in the area later became extremely challenging.
Merritt said the man was spotted within a few hours of landing on the beach, making for a simpler recovery operation.
"It was a combination of decent size surf and what they call a wind shadow," Merritt said, which he described as the condition when high bluffs block the nearby ocean from the wind, decreasing windsurfers' ability to control their boards. "It can be a hard area to predict what the conditions are, with conditions changing very, very fast."
