Major swell heightens danger at Ocean Beach

Video: Two Men Critical After Rescue At San Francisco Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach, known for its sneaker waves and powerful rip currents, has long been known as one of the most dangerous beaches in California.

But a storm system that hit the Bay Area on Wednesday and Thursday made the conditions even more perilous, whipping up 15-foot waves that slammed the stretch of coastline from the San Francisco Zoo to the Cliff House.

The damage was severe, with major and fast-moving swell reportedly claiming at least one victim and prompting authorities to again warn swimmers and surfers about hazards that — at least from a distance — may not seem all that formidable to some.

At 3:44 p.m. Wednesday, a father and son were swimming in the water across the Great Highway from the Beach Chalet restaurant, the San Francisco Fire Department said.

The men, whom authorities have not identified, were spotted in trouble as waves relentlessly pounded the coastline. One wore underwear, the other basketball shorts, according to witnesses.

Arriving rescuers found one of the men, who had already been pulled from the water, unconscious. The other man was still in the ocean, unresponsive in the waves, firefighters said.

The father was taken to UCSF Medical Center, and the son was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center, said Mindy Talmadge, a San Francisco fire spokeswoman.

Fernando Altman prepares to surf at Ocean Beach on September 25th 2014. The coastline is getting hit with some of the biggest swells of the season. Fernando Altman prepares to surf at Ocean Beach on September 25th 2014. The coastline is getting hit with some of the biggest swells of the season. Photo: Sam Wolson, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Sam Wolson, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Major swell heightens danger at Ocean Beach 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

On Thursday, KTVU TV reported that the father had died. Officials at the San Francisco medical examiner’s office said they could not confirm the report, and a spokeswoman for UCSF Medical Center would not comment.

Surfer rescued

The incident at Ocean Beach happened as authorities responded to distress calls up and down the coast.

Later Wednesday evening, U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued a 24-year-old man who was separated from his friends while surfing at 7:45 p.m at Ocean Beach. He was stranded on a rock near the Cliff House with broken finger and hypothermia.

A few hours earlier, the Coast Guard rescued two men from a disabled Jet Ski personal watercraft off Mussel Point north of Bodega Bay. The men, who were drifting toward big waves about 300 yards from shore, were unhurt.

The swell was spawned by a storm system that originated off the coast of British Columbia, bringing more than half an inch of rain to San Francisco.

Strong winds propelled the waves toward California, where they picked up speed and slammed into the coast at close to 50 mph, said Larry Smith, a beach safety leader for the National Weather Service.

“There are big, strong waves out there,” Smith said. “You have to worry about rip currents, but the waves are big enough and strong enough, they could wash people on the beach out into the water.”

Dramatic changes

At Ocean Beach, the sandy shelf drops off rapidly, causing the big waves to break cleanly close to shore. The conditions make the beach ripe for surfing, but they also create powerful channels that can suck anyone in the water out to sea.

“It’s a very fast-moving raw swell,” said Mark Massara, a surfer and attorney for O’Neill wetsuits who has surfed Ocean Beach for 25 years.

Wednesday morning, “it was 2 to 3 feet. The change of the texture and quality of the waves has been dramatic in the past 24 hours. The shore pound alone can break your neck.”

Thursday’s cloud cover burned off by the afternoon. It would have otherwise been a beautiful day to spend at Ocean Beach, but the ominous waves were intimidating for the few beachgoers.

“I wouldn’t want to go out there,” said Jason Abranches, 21, who lives in the Outer Sunset and was skim-boarding in a shallow lagoon near the crashing waves. “This is big. This is a lot bigger than I’ve ever seen it.”

Andrew Florin, 29, and Eric Espinosa, 32, walked shirtless along the beach while they picked up sand dollars and soaked up the sun.

“Last time I was here, there was a lot of people in the water. Today, there’s nobody,” Espinosa said.

“I like to body surf — but not here,” Florin added. “It’s scary.”

Teams from the National Parks Service’s beach patrol drove up and down the nearly empty beach and posted signs that read “No swimming.”

Rip current hazards

Fernando Altmann moved to San Francisco from Brazil one month ago. He said he understood the dangers but decided to go surfing anyway.

“With the board, it’s not as dangerous,” the 26-year old said. “If you surf, it’s safer. If you don’t, it’s not.”

Experts say rip currents are the biggest safety threat at beaches. They create fast channels of water that flow away from the beach and out past breaking waves. A rip current can be spotted by choppy break in the incoming wave pattern, which is often a different color than the rest of the ocean.

Anyone caught in a rip current is advised to stay calm and swim sideways out of the channel and then at an angle back to shore. If the current is too strong to escape, swimmers are warned not to fight it, but wait unit the current fades.

Conditions at Ocean Beach were expected to be especially nasty through Friday, after the storm system weakens. Rip currents at the beach, however, are always a danger.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky