Despite big wave warnings, two walls of water caught dozens of spectators off-guard and knocked them to a rocky beach as they watched a Northern California surfing contest on Saturday, leaving some with broken bones.
Thirteen people swept from a seawall had significant injuries, including broken legs and hands, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Battalion Chief Scott Jalbert said.
He reduced the official count from the 15 reported earlier in the day but said others treated at the beach for injuries such as scrapes and bruises were not included in the total. At least three of the injured were taken to hospitals.
Jalbert estimated “a couple hundred” people were on the seawall at the southern tip of Mavericks Beach when the waves struck, upstaging the surfing competition that draws some of the world’s top surfers.
The waves were 1.5m to 1.8m high by the time they hit — “small but strong,” he said.
“Nobody was swept away into the water. They were just swept onto the beach area pretty hard,” Jalbert said. “It’s pretty rocky.”
Additional firefighters had been on the way to clear the beach because of dangerous conditions but arrived too late, he said.
Only after the unexpected large waves swept in during high tide did the National Weather Service post a high surf warning until 10pm on Saturday. The agency previously posted a less severe high surf advisory.
Spectators lost cameras, cellphones and backpacks as the waves swept the seawall.
Authorities yelled for people to get back from the shore after the waves struck but could not use the public address system because it had been swept away.
Competitors voted to schedule the contest because forecasts called for record-breaking tall waves, despite warnings that strong winds could make those breakers dangerously unpredictable.
Chris Bertish, who traveled 21 hours from his South Africa home, won the contest. He had just 48 hours’ notice that huge waves were breaking off the coast and the Mavericks Surf Contest was on. Second place went to Shane Desmond of Santa Cruz.
The other winners were: Anthony Tashnick, Santa Cruz, third place; Dave Wessel, Kailua, Hawaii, fourth; Carlos Burke, Burle, Brazil, fifth; and Kenny Collins, Santa Cruz, sixth.
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