Rogue wave swept Central Coast fisherman 1,000 feet out to sea. How he was rescued
Dangerously strong, high waves were apparently to blame for a fisherman being swept into the waters of a Central Coast beach Thursday.
According to Cheryl Goetz, chief of the Mid Coast Fire Brigade, a volunteer emergency services organization, the incident occurred about 10 miles south of Carmel.
Firefighters and weather forecasts had called for the high tides, riptides and strong wave action there, Goetz told The Tribune, but the surf appeared flat when the man was swept off the rocks.
“That’s why they call them sneaker waves, where one wave hits hard and high,” she said, warning that ocean conditions can be deceptive. “You can’t always look out there and see that it’s not a good day.”
One of the two friends with the fisherman tried to reach the man, Goetz said, “but he couldn’t get out far enough.”
Fortunately, a CHP officer who was just up the road saw the friends and heard them calling for help.
Mid Coast Fire arrived soon thereafter, followed by State Park rangers and lifeguards, a CHP helicopter and a drone “with eyes in the sky so we didn’t lose him,” Goetz said.
By that point, the fisherman was about 1,000 feet out.
“Fortunately, he was in a pretty safe spot, just outside the riptide area,” she said.
The helicopter hoisted the patient to an ambulance waiting to take the severely hypothermic patient to Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula. A Coast Guard rescue boat arrived at the same time the helicopter did, she said, and because of the man’s condition, the rescuers opted to use the faster transportation.
The man is expected to recover.
Similar marine warnings are being issued for San Luis Obispo County shores, with a high surf advisory in effect through late Sunday night, according to Friday morning’s National Weather Service’s marine forecast calls for small craft advisories.
Recent National Weather Service marine forecasts called for the county’s coastline to experience dangerous conditions through Saturday, with high, long-period west-northwest swell causing 10- to 11-foot waves.
Expect strong rip currents, large breaking waves, and high danger from sneaker waves, particularly on Friday.
As always, experts advise never turning your back on the water.
The incident comes after Monterey County has experienced similar issues in recent months with people getting caught in the waves.
A father and young daughter both died after being swept out to sea from Garrapata State Beach, on Nov. 14. Only a few days later, 35-year-old Amanpreet Thind, a U.S. Army serviceman, was swept away from the same beach.
The formal search for Thind’s body was suspended Dec. 1.
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 9:30 AM.
