Man fishing yards away recalls Santa Cruz Wharf collapsing amid high surf
SANTA CRUZ – A witness, just 20 yards away, recounted the moments when several massive waves slammed into the pilings of the Santa Cruz Wharf, sending the end of the wharf and three people into the ocean.
The Santa Cruz Wharf got hit by a wave, cracking some of the piling before another one took it out.
"I was like, 'Oh no dude, I think this might go,' and sure enough it did," said Michael Brantley, a local who witnessed the whole thing. "It happened really fast."
Brantley and his 14-year-old son were fishing just yards from where the collapse happened.
He noticed the wharf swaying with each passing wave and began recording on his phone. Moments later, the unthinkable happened.
"It sounded like trees cracking in a storm and then a thunderous woosh and when we looked back there was nothing," Brantley said.
The City of Santa Cruz confirmed Tuesday morning that about 150 feet of the wharf collapsed into the water, trapping three people on the wreckage.
They were all rescued and unharmed.
The debris is now scattered along the coastline near the San Lorenzo River and Seabright Beach.
"My initial thought, it was an explosion," said Robby Pappas, the manager of Cowell's Surf Shop.
Pappas was among those to witness the collapse from the shore. He says the massive swell that hit the California coast was unusually large, an event the area hasn't seen in decades.
"I would say it was the top three biggest swells I have ever seen," Pappas said,
Cowell's Beach, located on the north side of the wharf, is known as one of the world's best spots for beginner surfers. It transformed into a danger zone.
"Even the best beginner break in the world had 5 to 8 foot faces," Pappas said.
As the wharf faces extensive repairs, people like Brantley feel fortunate to have walked away unharmed.
"If it had went further, it would have been a bigger catastrophe," Pappas said.
Engineers are assessing the structure of the wharf to determine when it could reopen. The timeline for that is unclear.