Surfers, heroes

It was 22 January 2018. In the afternoon a couple decided to ignore the warning signs and the closed barrier of the San Vicente de la Barquera dock. They took a walk to the end of the breakwater. A huge wave crashed and hit the man, sending him on a rock that was about to be covered by the rising tide. He was wounded and hurt by the fall and seemed to be paralyzed and frozen on that rock when the tide rose. His girlfriend was crying helplessly from the dock above and the fishermen on the other side of the small bay immediately called 112. But there was not enough time for the professional rescue.

Two surfers were not far away, waiting for a wave like every surfer, when one of them, a young man called Patrick, saw the fallen man on the rock and quickly realized that there was no time to wait. 

He called his friend and paddled in a hurry to the man in need. Even if the waves were big and the sea was agitated near the breakwater, they rushed to rescue him risking their own lives. When they reached the rock, the man was holding on with his last powers and the rising waves almost choked him. The surfers put him on Patrick's board and the other surfer kept him in line while Patrick swam and pushed the surfboard from aside. Finally they reached a stone stairway in the breakwater and helped the wounded man to go up safely. After a short while, the ambulance arrived.

Without waiting for any reward, the surfers plunged back into the water and resumed their activity. On the shore, Patrick’s father who witnessed everything with great emotion whispered: that’s the second time my son is saving a man from drowning. That’s him! And a voice of a woman from the crowd completed: A Hero!