Well-known surfer rescued at famed Hawaii surf break, reports say. ‘Strong young man’
A prominent surfer was pulled from the water by lifeguards and friends after he was seriously hurt at the famed Pipeline surf break on Oahu’s North Shore, according to officials and news reports in Hawaii.
The 29-year-old, identified by family and friends in social media posts as Makai McNamara, was injured while surfing in 8- to 10-foot waves at about 8:50 a.m. Feb. 23, officials said.
Eli Olson, a friend and fellow surfer who helped with the rescue, told Island News that McNamara “went head first into the reef.”
“It was just a bad wave, kind of a freak accident,” Olson told the outlet.
Honolulu Ocean Safety said in a news release that “lifeguards responded through a rising swell, secured the surfer onto a rescue board and paddled him to shore.”
Fellow surfers who were lined up to catch waves “also greatly assisted with the rescue,” the agency said in a Feb. 23 release.
Rescuers performed CPR on shore and used an automated external defibrillator, or AED, and “after several rounds of CPR, the patient regained a pulse,” officials said.
He was taken to a hospital.
Landon McNamara, Makai’s brother, said in a Feb. 24 Instagram post that the 29-year-old was in intensive care and the “last update is he will be kept asleep for the next 72 hours in order to heal the best.”
Liam McNamara, Makai’s father, shared via Instagram video Feb. 24 that the surfer is “doing well” and is “on his road to recovery.”
“I thank the lifeguards and everybody who helped – so many people. Thank you so much for helping save my son,” Liam McNamara said. “The next two days he’ll be here in the hospital and we just need the continued prayers and positive energy. Makai’s a strong young man and he’s going to get through this.”
The McNamaras are a well-known surf family in Hawaii, Spectrum News reported, describing father Liam McNamara as a Pipeline “legend.” Landon McNamara won the recent Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, according to SURFER Magazine.
Kyle Foyle, a lifeguard and friend of Makai McNamara, shared on Instagram about his experience during the rescue.
For a few minutes, “I thought I was holding my friend for the last time,” Foyle said in a Feb. 24 post.
However, “it wasn’t your time,” Foyle said. “You’re too good of a human, friend, brother, son, uncle and neighbor to be gone.”
He added that, “the sound of your voice yelling at me to stop holding your head was the best thing I’ve heard in a long time. I’m so glad to have been there at your darkest moment to help you live.”
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