16-year-old surfer Kayla Smith rescues three grown men caught in rip current
Kayla Smith, a teenage surfer from New Jersey, rescued three grown men from a rip current in Bay Head on Sunday.
While she waited for her lift, Kayla was approached on the beach by two women, the wives of the men caught in the current, asking for help. She immediately ran into the water with her surf board and brought them all safely back to shore.
Kayla explained what happened: “Two women ran up to me. They asked if I could go get their husbands. I grabbed my board. I ran right in there.”
“I couldn’t even think, it was just like keep paddling and try as hard as you can,” she continued. “I was worried about them more than myself because I could tell they were sipping on water from the ocean and everything.”
Kayla has been surfing for 2 years and had just finished her session in the water when she was approached by the women.
“They couldn’t catch their breath and I was like ‘I’ll balance the board for you guys just kick to help me get in’ because there was no way I could have pulled them in,” she said. “No one could touch up there. It was probably a 10-foot drop maybe.”
Kayla was honored by Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday in a tweet. He said: “A huge shout out to Point Pleasant’s Kayla Smith, whose heroic efforts saved the lives of three men caught in a rip current offshore in Bay Head last week”.
Remember it’s always important to do a safety and risk assessment of conditions before you enter the water, and have the Coast Guard’s number to hand in case you see someone getting into trouble.
