The Orange County Register
By LAYLAN CONNELLY / STAFF WRITER
Two things that don’t mix: novice surfers and big, stormy surf.
Add a concrete pier piling – and you have a recipe for disaster.
Newport Beach lifeguards made a dramatic rescue Saturday night, after a call about a distressed surfer at 5:30 p.m. near the Newport Beach pier. Stormy conditions continued Saturday after Friday’s mega storm, but many vacationers in town for the holiday weekend went into the water despite the rough waters.
“It was kind of crazy. I was shocked they were going out there, the ocean was angry,” Newport Beach Marine Safety Capt. Skeeter Leeper. “Waves were 6 to 8 feet and stormy, waves coming in from every direction.”