Thanks to the surfer as rescuer

Surfers are out there enjoying themselves. They are not expected to serve as rescuers. But at some time and some place, chance may avails for a surfer to act heroic and carried out rescue operation. That's bonus in life, we can not depend on it, but it sure happens!

And it just happened yesterday at Ocean City, Maryland in the aftermath of hurricane Bill. A heart warming story of the heroic act of a heroic surfer just reported in Ocean City Maryland News by Bryan Russo:

Twenty-six-year-old Nick Wilson merely wanted to catch a few waves left over from Hurricane Bill as he had surfed all weekend on the summer’s biggest waves and traveled to 122^nd Street in Ocean City Sunday evening for one final session.

Instead, Wilson says that he quickly realized that the heaviest paddling that he would do all weekend was to catch up with three “probably 10-12-year-old kids” who were swept away from the shallow waters by a strong rip current.

“I was waiting for a wave, and I saw this rip current forming, and it was the biggest one that I had seen all weekend,” said Wilson, “I had seen these three young kids in the water, and they got caught in this kind of rogue wave and were totally swept away. Within literally 15 or 20 seconds, they were almost out farther than I was to catch waves, and no one looked like they were coming for them.”

Wilson said that he pulled the one girl onto his surfboard about 60-70 feet from the shore and instructed the boy to grab onto the board as they paddled over to the third little girl in distress.

With two children on his board, Wilson said that he instructed he helped get the third girl out of the current and she swam alongside his board while he paddled the other two back to the shore.

“They were pretty scared, but at least they were strong swimmers,” said Wilson. “It all happened so fast that by the time we were almost back to the shore, the parents were only in the water up to their knees screaming for help.”

What a surfer, with calm and cool mind, that Mr. Wilson!

Here's what the police has to say:

Ocean City Beach Patrol Captain Butch Arbin was just a few blocks away at the popular “Sundaes in the Park” concert series at Northside Park when he received a call at approximately 7:15 p.m. from the emergency dispatchers informing him of three swimmers in distress.

“We went with lights and sirens and by the time we got there, the surfer had the kids almost back to the shoreline,” said Arbin. “If that surfer hadn’t miraculously been at that exact spot at that exact time, this story might not have had a happy ending.”

Happiness is to hear a heroic act and a happy-ending story!