Cypress dentist Kevin Rummler had planned to take the family to the high Sierra’s for some trout fishing, but when news reports started rolling in about Hurricane Marie and the high surf, his plans changed.
Cypress dentist Kevin Rummler had planned to take the family to the high Sierra’s for some trout fishing, but when news reports started rolling in about Hurricane Marie and the high surf, his plans changed.
“I wasn’t about to miss a once in a lifetime swell,” said Rummler, 52, who has been surfing since the age of 11.
He wasn’t exaggerating.
“This is not a run-of-the-mill surf event,” said Dave Bruno, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
LA County lifeguards warned, “If in doubt, do not go out.”
This did not deter Rummler.
Early Wednesday morning he and his 15-year-old son, Grant, headed to Church Beach in South Orange County. Grant has been surfing with his dad for just a year. He was already a skilled skateboarder, and the ability seems to have transferred. His high school studies are done via BYU Independent Study so his time in the car was spent practicing Spanish with his dad and time on the waves could be counted toward P.E. credits.
Rummler recounts that Wednesday was a sunny day and the waves were crowded.
“The air was warm. The water was warm. There was no wind. The waves kept getting bigger and bigger. It was ‘super treacherous,’” he said. “The waves were so powerful.”
Rummler’s board broke in two as he rode approximately half way down on the face of a wave.
“The next thing I knew, my face hit the water and I couldn’t find the nose to my board.”
He said he was lucky to have not seriously injured himself.
After swimming into shore, a spectator gave him the missing surfboard nose.
They weren’t about to let that stop them.
The two of them hiked to a local surf shop where Rummler purchased another surfboard.
Wednesday afternoon the waves were bigger and there were fewer surfers willing to stay out. Wave measurement isn’t an exact science, with various methods to calculate the height. Normal wave height can range from 2–4 feet.
Swells last week were averaging 6–9 feet on the back, which is equivalent to 12–18 feet on the front.
Surf conditions on Thursday were much the same as Wednesday, and it was Grant’s turn for some surfboard damage. His leash snapped. The leash secures the surfboard to the surfer’s ankle, keeping the board with the surfer when they “wipe out.”
Seeing his surfboard heading toward the rocky beach concerned Grant.
He has learned the art of ding repair but said he wasn’t looking forward to the amount of work it would take to restore his board.
Luckily for him, another young surfer on the beach saw his board coming in and caught it before it had a chance to hit the rocks.
When asked if his wife was okay with the change in vacation plans, Rummler said she was fine with it. She was able to spend time getting their daughter ready to return to BYU Idaho.
Rummler returned to Church Beach on Friday to share the experience with the entire family, but the waves were back to normal.
“It was hard to go back to surfing such small waves,” Rummler said. "It was definitely an epic surf experience, one that I will probably never have again in my life.”
Rummler has practiced dentistry, raised his family and worshipped in Cypress for 24 years.
