A combined effort by local surfers and Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue saved a man who was stranded on the end of the Wrightsville Beach south end jetty Saturday, May 2 after he was caught in a stiff current and washed over the rocks.
The man and his friend were swimming in Masonboro Inlet Saturday afternoon when they were caught in a current near the jetty wall. Their identities were not released, but WBOR lifeguard captain Jeremy Owens said they were from out of the country.
“They just didn’t have any idea about the currents in the ocean,” Owens said during a May 5 phone interview.
The current was particularly powerful May 2 due to a sizeable groundswell in the ocean, he added.
One of the men was able to swim back to shore, where he called 911. Owens said the call came in around 5 p.m. and WBOR was dispatched.
The other man was sucked further out to sea and washed over the rocks. Jason Pilla was surfing nearby and saw the man standing on the end of the jetty waving and running back and forth frantically.
Pilla said he watched the man for a moment to try to determine if the man was calling for help or just waving, and then he decided to investigate.
“I communicated with another surfer and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to go out there and check it out,’” Pilla said. “We talked about some hand signals ahead of time. … If I put both hands up, go get help, and if I put one hand up, don’t worry about it, I’ll swim him in.”
Pilla said it took about six or seven minutes to paddle out to the man, and when he got there it was evident the man needed help.
“I think he had gone into shock at that point because he was pretty much greyish blue and he seemed a little off in his speech pattern . . . and he was pretty bloody and beat up,” Pilla said. “His leg was the worst . . . but his back was really bad [too], he had obviously gotten rolled around on his back.”
Pilla said he looked around for the WBOR truck, but the incident happened right after the guards’ regular shoulder season patrol; a limited force of two or three lifeguards drive up and down the beach 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 1 through Memorial Day weekend, when the full seasonal staff returns to the stands.
Pilla said he pulled the man onto his surfboard and talked to him, trying to calm him down and take his mind off his injuries. About 15 minutes later, he said, WBOR guards arrived and deployed their Jet Ski.
Owens said the guards pulled the man onto the ski and brought him in to shore. He was examined by EMS because he had lacerations on his body and a knee injury, Owens said, but the injuries were not life threatening and he did not have to go to the hospital. The man was also very cold, Owens said, because the water temperature was only in the high 60s.
Owens said he is grateful for the local surfers, who are often the very first to the scene in water rescues.
“We are very fortunate to have so many people out there willing to help out,” he said, “especially surfers who know the water…and are able to provide flotation for people in distress out there so we can get to them and bring them in.”
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