Injured surfer expected to fully recover
Jan. 25, 2011THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An Orange County surfer is expected to fully recover after nearly drowning following a dramatic wipeout Saturday at the famed big-wave Mavericks surf break in Northern California, his brother told the Register on Tuesday.
"It's a miracle," Bobby Trette said of Jacob Trette, 30, of San Clemente, who was sucked under after a set of rogue 20-25-foot waves suddenly developed and hit a large group of surfers who had been catching 12- to 15-foot swells.
ESPN.com posted a frame-by-frame photo breakdown of the series of waves that slammed Trette.
The first fast-moving swell pushed Trette down the face of the wave as it broke. Trette resurfaced to take a breath before a second wave sent him back under the water.
Jacob Trette, an experienced surfer who had ridden waves at Mavericks before, was found unconscious and face down in the water following the accident at about 10 a.m. Saturday.
Russell Ord, a surfing photographer who was nearby on a jet ski, pulled Trette from the surf and brought him to shore where he helped revive him. Ironically, jet skis are banned in the area where the near-drowning occurred.
"I actually thought he was dead for sure and I was really surprised when we got him to shore that he had a pulse," said Ord, an Australian firefighter, in an interview with CBS' "The Early Show."
Trette was taken to Stanford Medical Center in critical condition. Doctors put him in a medically induced coma."It's a miracle," Bobby Trette said of Jacob Trette, 30, of San Clemente, who was sucked under after a set of rogue 20-25-foot waves suddenly developed and hit a large group of surfers who had been catching 12- to 15-foot swells.
Jacob Trette, 30, with son Jacob Jr., 2, photographed Christmas 2010.
Photo courtesy of Bobby Trette
The first fast-moving swell pushed Trette down the face of the wave as it broke. Trette resurfaced to take a breath before a second wave sent him back under the water.
Jacob Trette, an experienced surfer who had ridden waves at Mavericks before, was found unconscious and face down in the water following the accident at about 10 a.m. Saturday.
Russell Ord, a surfing photographer who was nearby on a jet ski, pulled Trette from the surf and brought him to shore where he helped revive him. Ironically, jet skis are banned in the area where the near-drowning occurred.
"I actually thought he was dead for sure and I was really surprised when we got him to shore that he had a pulse," said Ord, an Australian firefighter, in an interview with CBS' "The Early Show."
By Tuesday morning, Trette's condition had improved dramatically. Stanford Medical Center officials said in a statement that Trette's vital signs were stable and within normal limits. And Bobby Trette, 26, said his brother is expected to fully recover.
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Surfer hospitalized after Mavericks accident
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January 23, 2011
A surfer remained hospitalized Sunday after he almost drowned at Mavericks surfing area near Half Moon Bay on Saturday, according to news reports and interviews with authorities.
GrindTV, a surfing website, identified the surfer as Jacob Trette.
Paramedics called to the scene about 10 a.m. Saturday found a 30-year-old surfer who had been rescued and revived by surfers and an emergency medical technician, with the help of bystanders who were at the surf spot, said David Cosgrave, a battalion chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The surfer was flown out to Stanford University Medical Center. A spokesman at the hospital said he could not comment on the condition of the patient.
[Updated, 5:15 p.m.: A hospital spokesman said the surfer is in critical condition.]
Officials did not name the man Sunday. An Internet post from Frank Quirarte, a photographer who witnesses the incident, said the surfer had suffered a brain injury but was moving his arms and legs.
"They're lowering his body temp so he doesn't use as much oxygen and keeping him heavily sedated,” the post read. Too “early to tell how much damage has been done if any.”
A big-wave surf contest was planned for Saturday, but it appears to have been scrapped because waves weren’t high enough. GrindTV reported that the surfers had moved closer to the shore because the waves were breaking more consistently in that location.
But a 25-foot wave took the pack of surfers by surprise. Video footage shows surfers trying to paddle over the wave, but several surfers were sucked in by the wave when it crashed down. The footage shows another monstrous wave striking a surfer identified as Trette.
Once the waves had cleared, Russell Ord, a photographer who was on a personal water craft, moved in to pull one surfer out of the water. As he was bringing the surfer toward shore, he came along Trette’s body floating face-up in the whitewater, according to GrindTV.
Ord jumped in and pulled Trette’s body onto the rescue sled attached to his vessel and brought him to shore.
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SOMEWHAT SIMILAR STORY FROM LAST YEAR
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Large Rogue Wave Accident at Mavericks Surf Contest 02/13/10 Feb 13, 2010
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Waves slammed into the beach at the Mavericks Surf Contest this morning, injuring at least 15 people and prompting organizers and local officials to block any more spectators from entering the area.
Coastside Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Ari Delay said two or three people were taken to hospitals with injuries, the worst of which was a fracture. About 70 paramedics, law enforcement officers and fire officials remain at Mavericks Beach to manage the estimated crowd of 20,000 people.
Organizers decided to close the Half Moon Bay Airport parking lot to new arrivals at about 10 a.m., when the tide was at its highest, said Mavericks Surf Contest spokeswoman Katherine Clark. No more
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people are being allowed into the viewing area at Mavericks Beach, and those who leave will not be permitted to return. The most exposed area of the beach has been closed to the public with police barricades.
The structure on which the awards ceremony was going to be held was broken up by waves, so workers dismantled it. The winners will now be announced around 4 p.m. at the Oceana Hotel and Spa in Princeton.
A series of powerful waves surprised a large number of spectators on the beach early this morning around 9 and knocked over tents set up by contest organizers for the surfers and medical personnel.
Paramedics took a man in his 60s away with an ankle injury. He was bloodied, having been trampled by the crowd after he was knocked over by a surge of water.
The waves also took down Mavericks volunteer Renee Sorenson, of Redwood City.
"I got knocked over by one of those dumb waves," she said. "It also took my camera away. I tried to brace myself but it tripped me and another wave washed over me."
Sorenson's daughter, Amanda, said the sight of the wave surging up the beach was "the scariest thing I've ever seen."
"We're here ever year and we get rogue waves but nothing like this," said Renee Sorenson. She was treated by paramedics and sent to a hospital with a likely broken wrist.
Every wave that crashed onto the beach claimed a couple more victims. Two small children were seen crying in their father's arms, covered in sand and salt water.
People climbed the bluffs above the beach to escape the waves, even though the area is supposed to be off-limits. There was a rush away from the beach with each big wave, but when the tide receded spectators returned to the water's edge.
While those on the beach scrambled for safety, many others continued to watch the contest on a large viewing screen, safely removed from the surging waves.
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Damned near got swamped in my bass boat by a rogue wave on Kentucky Lake once. My buddies and I call it KY Lake. Once we got back to the boat dock, we proceded to drink beer and clean our crappie which weren't too plentiful on that particular day!
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