Paso woman saves two in Cambria surf Saturday

She notices a young man and a child struggling with the waves, jumps in the water and pulls them out

Kathe Tanner

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Catharina “Cat” Rowley of Paso Robles didn’t expect to save the lives of two people when she went to the Shamel Park beach in Cambria on Saturday with her three children and her mother-in-law.

But that’s what happened.

Rowley, an experienced swimmer with a little lifeguard training and a paramedic husband, dashed into the incoming tide and rescued two foundering non-swimmers, a 22-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl.

‘Never turn your back on the ocean’

David Yudovin of Cambria is a world-record-holding channel swimmer and a member of the North Coast Ocean Rescue Team. He advises those at the shore to “just be aware of how dangerous the ocean is. It is common sense. But when you’re naive, you’ve naive. You go up to the water, let the waves break over your feet, and the water can get you. There’s a great potential for disaster.”

He advises, “Never turn your back on the ocean. Beware of strong currents and riptides. Non-swimmers should stay very clear of the shoreline, because the waves can sneak up on you. And the water here is very cold. Even 10 minutes in that water can take its toll, putting you into a mild hypothermia, in which your brain doesn’t function fully, your system is starting to shut down. It’s very dangerous.”

The evening’s high tide was about an hour away.

Rowley, 33, had been taking photos of the waves about 5 p. m. when she noticed the water was getting much rougher. “It’s getting a little crazy out there,” she commented to her mother-in-law, Evelyn Rowley.

Then Cat Rowley noticed a fully dressed woman rushing into the surf.

“She was struggling to get in to about chest level, then struggling to get back out again,”when she couldn’t handle the surf, Rowley said.

“Something inside me said, ‘Something’s not right.’ ” Then she spotted two people out in the water, beyond the surf line. “I saw their heads bobbing up and down.

“If they were my children, I’d want someone to go help them,” the lifelong swimmer explained. “I told my mother-in-law to watch the kids and took off running” about 35 feet toward the water. “I took off my skirt, and started swimming after them.”

She had no idea how many people were in trouble in the water or how old they were. “I just heard a voice yelling for help.”

Rowley estimates she swam out about 40 or 50 meters to the two. “By then, I couldn’t see their heads any more, just an arm waving.”

Both victims immediately latched onto Rowley for dear life, throwing their arms around her neck. The little girl “kept saying ‘Help me, help me. I’m too young to die.’ ”

From Rowley’s lifeguard training, she knew what she had to do to save them from the waves. “I kept saying, ‘I’m here to help you. You have to trust me. Look into my eyes. I won’t leave you here,’ ” she recalled.

Finally, she persuaded the man to hang onto the little girl, not the rescuer, so Rowley could use a lifeguard hold on the youngster and tow them both to shore at the same time. “He held onto her foot, and I held onto her.”

Paramedics took the two cold, scared rescuees to Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton.

Because of medical privacy laws, emergency crews couldn’t release the names or hometowns of the two rescued from the surf.

Later, Rowley learned a family of about 35 had been holding a reunion. One member of the Rodriguez family told her that none of them could swim, but had been at the shore, playing in the water.

“The waves were breaking so far in at the shore, and another would come right in behind it,” Rowley said. “The riptides were really strong. I think the man went in to help the girl, but he couldn’t swim.”

Rowley wishes she’d gotten the family’s phone numbers, so she could check on the condition of the two.

“I guess I’m pretty shy to think of it that way,” she said. “I believe God puts you in places where you can help. I’m glad I was there.”

Her son D. J., 12, put it into perspective later for his mom and grandmother, brothers Nathan, 9, and Christian, 3.

“Wow!” he said, “Both my parents save lives.”