Saved By a Whistle:

The story behind a U.S. Coast Guard Rescue In The San Francisco Bay

By Erin Edwards

Surfers flock to Mavericks &

Dead Man's Beach in the San Francisco Bay

Oct. 18th, 6:24pm

Credit: LCDR JJ Briggs, USCG

Coast Guard Dispatch Room

A 30-year-old surfer at Crissy Field Beach, also known as "Dead Man's Beach," begins his session on a day with 10-12 foot swells.

3:30 pm

Credit: Lloyd Horgan/Lloyd/H/Photography

~ 4:30pm

The surfer is carried by the tide underneath the Golden Gate Bridge.

Communication Device, Font, Gadget

~ 5:30pm

The surfer is pushed out under the bridge into open ocean after giving up on paddling and fighting the unbeatable current.

6:52pm

The surfer drifted 7 miles out into the open ocean. The sun set at 6:28pm. Darkness was setting in when a crew on a freighter heard his whistle and located him by spotlight.

Credit: LCDR JJ Briggs, USCG

Credit: LCDR JJ Briggs, USCG

Credit: Adian Minty/San Francisco Bar Pilots

The surfer is rescued by a pilot boat. Briggs and his crew fly overhead and lower a basket. The surfer is placed inside and airlifted into the helicopter.

~ 7:30pm

997 Search and Rescue Cases in 2023

997 search and rescue cases

Coast Guard Sector San Francisco received

and saved 171 lives

In 2023,

The average temperature of the water in the San Francisco Bay in October is 56 degrees.

Between 50-60 degrees, death may occur within 1-6 hours.

The surfer rescued on October 18, 2023 declined to comment saying he was too traumatized by the severity of the situation he had survived. According to Briggs, the surfer that day was "saved by his whistle."