Sea glass hunters face dangerous conditions
Ocean swells wash up all kinds of things on Central Coast beaches. Crowds of people were at Davenport Beach in search of sea glass. Lifeguards said those on the hunt for sea glass could put themselves in danger. KION spoke to rescue crews about some of the more dangerous beach spots. Davenport Beach has a beautiful picturesque view but don’t let that fool you, authorities said those waves can be deadly.
“The northern part beaches of Santa Cruz county tend to be a little more extreme up there due to the direction of the actual coastal area so we tend to get a lot more wind up there, aot more swell, and alot more wave activity,” said State Park Lifeguard Supervisor, Eddie Rhee’Pizano.
On Monday, the Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Office identified the body of a man swept out to sea near Davenport, as 54 year-old Peter Koci. The Truckee man was visiting the area, looking for sea glass.
“It was really sad because one of the local sea glassers had a friend who was visiting and went missing when he went to the bathroom. Somebody saw the body and then when authorities got here it had washed back out,” said Santa Cruz resident, Virginia Nebenzahl.
Virginia Nebenzahl was at Davenport Beach the day Koci went missing, and she said she knows how dangerous the ocean can be.
“People are going where the rocks are washing up because that’s where you find the sea glass. But even at low tide or negative tides you have sleeper waves and they can smash you against the rocks,” said Nebenzahl.
Monday a sneaker wave almost pulled another man in. State Park Lifeguards said they do about 150 water rescues every year in the Santa Cruz area and most of them occur on the north coast.
Nebenzahl said the joy of finding colored glass outweigh the dangers for her, but said she knows her limits.
“I try to be careful going around the point, even if we know that’s where all the good glass is, I know it’s not worth it,” said Nebenzahl
State Park Lifeguards said beach-goers should never turn their back on the ocean. Try to go somewhere where there’s a lifeguard or at least a lot of people around.
