SANTA CRUZ — While already on alert because of the high surf that hit the Monterey Bay coast Monday, Santa Cruz Lifeguards Lts. Isaiah Mullen and Sam Hofmann, stationed on a Jet Ski in the water near Cowell Beach, suddenly turned their attention to the Santa Cruz Wharf when they heard the eerie crack of wooden pilings.
“At the time the Wharf collapsed, we were on the Cowell side about one quarter of the way to the end of the Wharf, just getting ready to do another patrol,” said Mullen in a video interview published by the city of Santa Cruz. “And that’s when something alerted me to look out at the end of the Wharf, which I believe was the cracking of the pilings.”
Around 12:45 p.m. Monday, a massive swell took about 150 feet of the already-damaged south end of the Santa Cruz Wharf into the sea, with portions floating there for a short time before being dispersed by tidal forces.
“We were just off the Wharf around Lifeguard Headquarters when my deckhand, who was keeping an eye on the outside, watching for waves that we would need to punch through, and he said, ‘I’m pretty sure the end of the Wharf just fell in,’” said Hofmann, who was driving the Jet Ski. “And I flip around just in time to the splash of something going in at the end of the stick.”
The team quickly made their way to the wreckage and informed Wharf maintenance workers what had occurred as they sped past them to the Wharf’s new end.
“As we approached the debris, we could see the true scope of what had happened and the amount of Wharf that was in the water,” said Mullen. “The buildings and structures that were still standing on it and two individuals standing on the wreckage waving us down for help.”
Hofmann added, “We got up there and it was pretty surreal. It was like this island floating just off the end. There was a light post just standing upright at the water’s edge.”
Mullen pulled on his fins and went after one of the construction workers while Hofmann responded to the other.
“They were separated at that point,” said Mullen. “One was closer to the pier and the other was towards the end. Because of the amount of debris, Lt. Hofmann came in and dropped me off from the ski and I swam in to get that individual while he went to get the other, who was more easily accessible by the PWC (personal watercraft).”
Because of the large swell, Mullen was afraid that the Wharf remnant that the worker was floating on could be suddenly destroyed or pulled into the standing Wharf.
“It was difficult to determine whether the structure was going to fall apart or whether it was going to get pushed into the pier, so I wanted to get the individual out as quickly as possible,” said Mullen.
“Unfortunately the individual had to get wet,” he added. “Just because of the location, the ski couldn’t pull up alongside the debris so the individual got in and as that was happening, there was a little bit of difficulty getting him out because when the waves came in and got higher, it caused the tide to suck in — sucking underneath the platform — kind of pulling us towards the structure.”
Despite the dangerous conditions, Mullen was able to get the worker out of the water and onto the Jet Ski along with the worker that Hofmann rescued. The four then made their way to the Santa Cruz Harbor where they dropped off the rescued workers.
“At that time there was a report of a possible third individual who had fallen in,” said Mullen. “We made our way back and began searching with the other crews that had come on the engines and our other rescue swimmers and the other individuals in our Marine Safety Division.”
Hofmann and Mullen scoured the debris along the Wharf suspecting that the third worker was under the structure, when they heard over the radio that the third person had been rescued and was OK. They then continued their patrol of the coast.
With more high swell events potentially in store in the coming months, Mullen and Hofmann urge spectators of big waves to keep their distance and stay aware.
“As a lifeguard and as a surfer and a waterman, when it’s big, that’s when it’s fun but the biggest thing is to know your limits,” said Hofmann. “And when there’s a high surf advisory, those aren’t the times to push it.”
Following the demolition and clean-up of the Wharf bathrooms that had shored at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River, Cowell Beach and Main Beach reopened to the public Saturday morning. But the fate of the damaged centenarian structure will be determined in the coming days after a structural assessment of the Wharf can be completed.