SAN DIEGO (WSVN) — Two lifeguards helped save a group of spear fishermen in San Diego amid a turbulent ocean last Friday.
As the fishermen were about to jump into the ocean during a storm, two lifeguards chose to explain the risks of being in the ocean at that time.
“The surf went from about 4 to 6 foot to about 6 to 8 foot over the course of about 3.5 hours. Me and my partner Austin, we came down and decided to have a conversation with them. We said, hey guys, today’s probably just not the day for it.” said lifeguard Pat McVan.
While one of the men listened and did not dive in, two of the fishermen ignored the warning and went in regardless.
“They took a couple of waves right on the head. It really yard sailed all their gear.” said McVan.
While one was unharmed, the other was trapped and unable to escape, causing McVan and his co-worker to assist.
“Asked if he was all right, tried to make sure that he understood what was going on. He was really kind of disoriented, had been shaken up by the whole ordeal. So we started waving our arms to try and start to get medics going. He was pretty injured, so we put the can underneath of his arms, and you can see in the video that I take a couple of waves on the head.” he said.
Both of the lifeguards were able to save the man and get him to safety and to be checked by a medical team.
“The friend that was able to get out of the water walked up to me and he said to me, ‘I know that this probably isn’t what you want to hear, but I’m so sorry. We should have listened to you.’” said McVan.
McVan then said that it was not his job to say, ‘I told you so.’
“But at the end of the day when the lifeguards come up to you and have that conversation, it’s not because we’re trying to be the fun police. It’s just because we have been watching the conditions, we see it change over the course of the day. If we’re saying to you, ‘Hey, today’s probably not the day.’ We’re being very serious.”
Finally, Mcvan advised others to not go out during stormy weather, with the advice of “If you’re ever in doubt, don’t go out.”
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