Lifeguards rescued several surfers from Osprey Point at the foot of Osprey Street in the Sunset Cliffs area Jan. 12 at about 2 p.m., according to lifeguard officials.
At least four surfers were reportedly trapped in a cove that some surfers use as an entry point to and exit point from the ocean. Lifeguards received the call when 8-foot swells trapped the surfers, said Lifeguard Services Lt. Andy Lerum.
Three of the surfers were able to make it to the cliffs and were rescued by lifeguards using a wench attached to a truck specifically designed for such cliff rescues, he said. Lifeguards rescued a fourth surfer by boat.
Although lifeguards initially received a call reporting five surfers in distress, there were only four when lifeguards arrived, Lerum said. Police believe the fifth surfer may have made it out on his or her own.
Lerum said the area is an unprotected stretch of cliffs and can pose a danger to inexperienced surfers trying to get in or out at the wrong time.
“People who use that area need to know that there’s nobody watching them and that we rely on the public to inform us,” Lerum said. “That’s why there’s a callbox there,”
Lerum said he believes somebody used the callbox to alert lifeguards.