I just got off the phone with Laird Hamilton who was out tow surfing yesterday on the outer reef of Baldwin Beach Park in Paia, Maui on the biggest swell we have seen in years. He was riding a 75 foot face when he fell and after a great scare and a lot of breath, his towing partner, Brett Lickel immediately picked Laird up on the jet ski and gunned the engine to race away from another monster approaching. Apparently, there was so much white water that the jet ski didn’t move fast enough for the massive white water engulfed the both of them and together with jet ski and tow boards, they tumbled like ragged dolls in the biggest washing machine imaginable. Brett’s calf muscle was split in two down to his ankle from a fin of a tow board and the ski was nowhere to be seen. Laird removed his wetsuit and tied it around Brett’s leg to stop the bleeding. Laird left Brett and had to swim a mile to retrieve the jet ski and returned to complete the rescue. They raced to Baldwin beach and got Brett to an awaiting ambulance. Brett is at home recuperating with 70 staples in his leg. I told Laird that he would be my first pick to save me but that he would have a bathing suit under his wetsuit next time…
