Russell Ord
wasn't supposed to be in the lineup at Maverick's on his Wave Runner
Saturday. Technically, he was breaking a recently passed ban on personal
watercraft in the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary imposed by NOAA.
Luckily, that didn't stop him from taking photographs of surfers braving a clean late January swell this weekend.
While
his presence there may have miffed some, it's clear now that his quick
action saved the life of surfer Jacob Trette when disaster struck in the
morning. Ord's life-saving action is exactly why many surfers opposed
the ban in the first place, citing the lack of life-saving apparatus
allowed near the break on big days as a danger.
The incident
occurred at approximately 9:45 am Saturday morning, when a huge set of
waves caught a number of surfers by surprise. Many of them had been
lured closer to shore where cleaner waves were breaking more
consistently on the higher tide. Then suddenly a huge 25-foot cleanup
set approached, heaving way outside of where the pack was sitting.
Surfers scrambled and scratched for the horizon to avoid being pummeled.
Trette was one of the unlucky ones.
The 30-year-old surfer was
sucked over the falls by the first wave after failing to make it over.
(He's visible in in the middle of the shot above, paddling the green
board.) When he finally resurfaced Trette was staring straight at another 20-foot wave crashing down on him. He endured two two-wave hold downs before being washed through the rocks inside.
When
the set approached Ord was sitting safely in the channel on his ski,
but sprang into action as soon as the 20-foot set cleared. In the
commotion, he nabbed Alex Bottello, another victim, and pulled him out
of the impact zone. He was zipping Bottello toward shore when the two
spotted Trette's lifeless body floating face-up in the frothy whitewater
way inside.
Ord jumped in the water and pulled him onto the
rescue sled attached to his ski. Bottello then held Trette's body in
place on the sled while Ord raced to shore, where an EMT and another
surfer skilled in CPR went to work on Trette. They continued until
Firefighters arrived and managed to get a pulse.
Trette was later air lifted to Stanford Medical Center, where according to the San Francisco Chronicle,
he was put into a medically induced coma after arriving. As of Sunday
morning, no official update on his condition has broken, but according
to the Half Moon Bay Review, renowned local photographer/lifesaver Frank Quirarte, the man spearheading this year's annual big wave competition, gave an unofficial update on Trette's status early Sunday:
"As
of last evening Jacob was moving his arms and legs and his pupils are
dilating. They're lowering his body temp so he doesn't use as much
oxygen and keeping him heavily sedated. He has an anoxic brain injury do
to lack of oxygen to the brain. To early to tell how much damage has
been done if any. Sending our prayers to him and his family."
Back in 2007 and 2008, when the ban was being debated, Quirarte was adamantly lobbying for logic, citing the safety issue to surfers. The debate even became a wedge issue between surfing environmentalists in the local Surfrider Chapter. In the end Quirarte's side lost.
Saturday's
incident is likely to bring the wisdom of NOAA's ban back into
question. Ever since the 1994 death of big-wave surfing legend Mark Foo
at Maverick's photographers based on land and in the water have become a
vital part of the rescue team efforts when surfers get in trouble.
Both groups carry radios and stay in communication with each other to
identify victims in need of help. "The ban has completely broken that
system down," says veteran Maverick's photographer Don Montgomery. "If
something happens to Jacob or any of these surfers there's no question
it's on NOAA's shoulders. Had the usual crafts been out there, including
Frank's [Quirarte], we would have been on Jacob much faster. Russel
didn't even see him until late because he was already helping somebody
else."
