Photo: Kingston Buchhagen // Instagram
A Southern California man quickly pivoted from surf coach to first responder in a dramatic turn of events this week. The moment occurred in Oceanside, California, where Lucas Taub leapt into the water fully clothed to save two nearby swimmers caught in a rip current.
Kingston Buchhagen described the turn of events in a caption accompanying an Instagram post of a video taken by a bystander. Lucas was sitting on the jetty, coaching one of his students in the WSA Oceanside Harbor South Jetty surf contest, when he saw a father and daughter struggling in the water. He promptly jumped into the ocean to rescue them.
“He saved their lives, plain and simple,” wrote Buchhagen. “Whether he liked it or not, he was the first responder. He stepped up when he needed to. Lucas coaches a lot of people, both kids and young adults, he is a huge part of the surfing community and a coach for the Westcliff College surf team. He showed what it means to step up and to be the example of helping others in a do or die moment. He practiced what he preaches.”
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