3 Lifeguards, Bystander Rescue Bodyboarder at The Wedge as High Tides Trigger 200 Rescues

Q: What training allows a bystander to assist professional lifeguards during a historic swell?

The kind of training that enables a bystander to help professional lifeguards in dangerous surf is basic water-emergency response training, not full lifeguard certification. Experts point to simple public guidance such as “Phone, Float, Throw”: call emergency services, tell the person in trouble to float on their back and stay calm, and throw flotation or rescue equipment rather than entering the water. That approach is increasingly paired with public rescue equipment stations at high-risk beaches, where rescue buoys and pictogram instructions are meant to help bystanders give immediate aid without becoming victims themselves. Useful formal training includes CPR/AED and first aid, which prepares a bystander to assist once the person is brought ashore and to support professionals until paramedics take over. Training on rip-current survival is also important because it teaches people how to recognize hazardous water, avoid panic, signal for help, float, and swim parallel to shore if caught in a current. In a historic swell like the one at The Wedge, the safest and most relevant bystander preparation is training that emphasizes scene safety, use of flotation, and emergency communication. Ocean-rescue experts generally stress that untrained people should avoid direct water entry in heavy surf unless they have specialized surf-rescue skills, because rough conditions can quickly turn one victim into two.

3 articles · Updated · KABC-TV · Jun 16

New video shows three Newport Beach lifeguards and one bystander plunging into choppy water at The Wedge last Tuesday to pull a struggling bodyboarder to safety.
High tides and the risk of rip currents along the Southern California coast created the dangerous conditions that prompted the rescue.
Newport Beach lifeguards said the bodyboarder was unharmed after the quick response.
At least 200 rescues were carried out during last week's historic swell, underscoring how hazardous the surf has remained.