By Russell Ord
Last week, I was standing just behind the house we were renting in Hawaii, looking at Ke Iki beach.
Ke Iki must be one of the world’s most powerful shore breaks and on this day it was no exception, exploding just a meter or two from shore.
A few photos would have looked amazing but it was dark and gloomy, and not worth risking the equipment or the body. I went back inside.
The sun appeared 15 minutes later. “let’s hit it.” I walked down the drive peaked over the hill, just in time to see a man getting carried from the beach. He had drowned and died on the way to hospital.
It made me think of being in the right place at the right time while at Mavericks earlier in the year. Mavericks, if you don’t know, is a big wave spot in California. In January, we chased a swell from the warm waters off Hawaii to the freezing cold waters off Half Moon Bay.
The waves were solid without being too scary; a “beginner day” (words used very loosely here). And it looked like it, with some “beginners” trying to surf the shoulder just so they could say to their mates they conquered Mavericks.
Brett Burcher, a surfer I was travelling with, had a handful of waves and knew I was keen to get one or two, and become one of those surfers that I described previously.
To be honest, it was looking like a good day to give it a go. But, not having any decent photos, the decision was made to wait. Best decision I ever made.
No more than two minutes later, it went from a beginner day to the upper echelon of surfing ability. The 12-15 ft waves (20-25 foot faces) were replaced with two waves in the range of 25-30 ft, or 45-55 ft faces.
That’s where it goes all wrong very quickly.
Having borrowed a jet ski for the day and seeing a surfer that looked in a touch of trouble, the conclusion was made to give it a go.
I have a lot of experience on a ski, so a quick rescue was really a no brainer; the first surfer was pulled just before the rocks and the job was done.
That was until I caught a brief glimpse of what appeared to be a wetsuit hood in amongst the foam.
After two to three minutes of searching and convincing myself I was seeing things, we went for a drive around the rocks only to find a kayak paddler waving us down and Jacob Trette’s body face down a few hundred meters in front of him.
Luckily the ski was equipped with a rescue sled, making life a lot easier to get him from the water to the shore. Jacob must have been in the water for five minutes and looked like he had no chance of survival.
But the freezing cold water just may have helped the cause because, once on the beach, he managed a couple of splutters just in time for the paramedics to bring him completely back.
Right time in the right place, and Jacob gets to play with his kids again.