East Coast surfer Austin Gibbons nearly lost his life at Pipeline a month ago. He wiped out on a wave around 6:30 p.m., February 5, and endured a two-wave hold down. He came to the surface unconscious and nearby surfers sprung into action to get him back to shore just as the nearby lifeguard tower was closing.
“To be able to hold onto an unconscious body full of water in 10-foot local-scale surf is impossible,” Dave Wassel said, crediting the surfers for saving his life.
It turns out a change to the operating hours of Oahu’s lifeguard towers played a key role in Gibbons’ rescue as well. Hours were extended for North Shore lifeguards in 2023 and it’s because of that change they were still nearby and able to administer CPR until 911 responders could get him to an emergency room.
Gibbons spent the next five days in a medically-induced coma and his mother jumped on an emergency flight across the United States and the Pacific Ocean to be by his bedside.
Now, a month after the life-changing incident, Austin and his mother returned to Ehukai Beach Park to thank the guards who saved his life. Ironically, Gibbons made the move from New York to Oahu to train to be a lifeguard himself.
“I just wanted to hug these guys and thank them for my life,” he says. “It’s hard for me to even put words to it but being able to squeeze these guys and look them in the eyes and truly thank them is something I’ve been waiting to do for a while.”
