Surfing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge is a strange, rare, and tricky endeavor.
But on Tuesday, three surfers found themselves facing something far more urgent than one of California’s most famed novelty waves: a man jumping from the iconic bridge.
Among them was 17-year-old Colby Ralls of San Rafael, who told ABC7 that shouting from above alerted the group to a person in distress. See below.
“I yelled to my dad, call someone,” Ralls recalled. People on the bridge were trying to stop the man, but he jumped. Ralls and two fellow surfers immediately paddled toward him.
“He was yelling help,” Ralls said.
The scene unfolded near Fort Point, the famously fickle lefthander tucked beneath the bridge’s south tower. The wave only comes alive when powerful northwest swells wrap through the Golden Gate, peeling over a rocky bottom with punishing tidal currents and cargo ships passing nearby. It’s one of California’s strangest surf spots—and hardly an easy place to stage a rescue.
Yet the surfers reached the man, who appeared to be in his 20s, and helped him onto a board. Ralls described “stabilizing the board and just keeping him afloat” while the group reassured him that help was coming. The man was conscious and breathing, but struggling to swim.
A U.S. Coast Guard boat arrived minutes later and rushed him to emergency medical care. Officials said he was in stable condition when transferred to an ambulance.
Coast Guard Lt. John Thompson credited the surfers with buying precious time. An impact from that height can cause severe injuries and shock, he explained, making their immediate response crucial.
“Hitting that water at that speed,” Lt. Thompson said, “you can experience shock very quickly. So, those surfers being there provided those vital seconds to save the person.”
Ralls, meanwhile, seemed astonished by what had happened. “It’s kind of crazy,” he said.
These weren’t professionals responding to an emergency. They were surfers who saw someone in danger, paddled straight into a potentially deadly situation, and saved a life.
But Ralls wasn’t interested in celebrating himself. He’s humble well beyond his years. And after the incident, his thoughts stayed with the stranger who survived.
“There should be easier ways to get help for people like that,” he reflected. “You know, I just I just really hope he’s okay.”
If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available 24/7: Confidential support is accessible anytime by calling or texting 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or texting TALK to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line.
Original Post from this site