The extreme weather, which prevailed in Haifa during the last weekend, brought with it, in addition to the abnormal amounts of precipitation, also strong winds, which did not spare the coastal strip either. During the lunch hours of Friday, December 21.12.23, XNUMX, the staff of the winter station at Bat Galim beach identified two surfers in the deep sea - one a sail surfer and the other a kit surfer. Following the surfers using the binoculars at the station, it seems that the whale surfer needed help.
There is no active surfing club, so there is no rescue
At that time, a brisk southwesterly wind was blowing, at a speed of 25 knots with gusts of 30 knots. The kite surfers surfed at the church beach on the Shekmona promenade. Since Haifa does not have an active windsurfing club, with a rescue boat, at Rosh Carmel, as of 2010, there is no one to secure surfers who get into trouble.
A south-south-west wind in azimuth 220, is a wind that sweeps surfers in distress away from the coast into the depths of the sea towards the heart of Haifa Bay (towards Acre) and therefore there is a risk of death in the event of a malfunction.
Back to the Insurers Beach
In the first step, the kitesurfer received assistance from the professional windsurfer, Arnon Dagan, who made a tremendous effort to lead the kitesurfer in the direction of Mitvathim Beach. The windsurfer brought the kitesurfer as close as he could, but due to the difficult sea conditions that prevailed at the time, the rescue was extremely difficult.
The lifeguard of the station, Raphael Elbaz, called the lifeguard to Yaad Logsi, who hurried, using a jet ski, to reach the surfers, who were already a considerable distance from the shore. After a lot of effort, Logsi managed to reach the surfer, helped him get on the jet ski and brought him back to the safe beach. Upon arrival at the beach, the surfer excitedly thanked the lifeguards.
The director of the beach division in the Haifa municipality, Yehiel (Hilik) Amsalem praised the vigilance of the lifeguards and their quick and professional response and noted that:
Once again it has been proven that the decision to operate rescue stations during the winter saves lives.
Dumbbell
A real lifesaver in a storm.