SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Even when they're up against waves that are twice their height, surfers will gladly suit up, pick up their board, and rush to jump into the crashing waves.
“I put my wetsuit on and paddle out," said surfer Glen Volk. "Everything gets better real fast.”
Volk has been surfing around San Diego for 50 years. He tries to take advantage of every swell he sees.
“We havent had big surf in a long time and we havent had a lot of surf like this in a few years,” Volk said.
Many surfers here in sunset cliffs have been doing this for decades, but even these guys need some rescuing.
“It’s just somebody who gets in over their head. It happens to the best of them,” said Lifeguard Chief James Gartland.
Gartland says last Friday they had around 25 rescues. Many of them were experienced surfers. On days like that, there are an additional seven lifeguards on patrol and two extra boats.
“The surf is really large, it’s not for novice or beginner surfers,” Gartland said.
That’s why many surf schools closed their offices in Ocean Beach. Surf instructor Reed Samtmann says they wont reopen until March.
“We see what the weather does, and we see what people want to do and we go for it,” Samtmann said.
But San Diego Surf School’s Pacific Beach office is still open, and they’re seeing a spike in customers.
“I was a little intimidated for all the beginners, but I was like this is cool get out there,” Samtmann said.
Whether surfers are novice or experienced, San Diego lifeguards say they'll be ready to help out.
“There’s always going to be people out there to challenge themselves in the water and that’s why the lifeguards are here to pick up the pieces if something goes wrong,” Gartland said.
