High Surf, Guam
- When
- February 20, 6:00 AM GST to February 25, 3:00 PM GST
- Where
- Guam forecast zone
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- Newspaper
A woman in her 30s, who was fishing on a platform off of Ipan, Talofofo Guam|was possibly swept into the ocean by a wave. At around 9 am the Coast Guard notified employees at Jeff's Pirates Cove, a restaurant and entertainment facility on the east coast of Guam, about a swimmer in distress. Jeff Pirate's Cove employees have rescued many people in the past (recipient of a NOAA Environmental Hero Award for 2010) and the establishment even has its own rescue boats to assist in this effort. The Coast Guard estimated that it would have been too late for them to attempt a rescue and therefore notified Jeff's Pirates Cove. Two employees from Jeff's went out in kayaks in an attempt to rescue the lady. She was 400 yards offshore and despite the strong currents managed to stay afloat for 20 minutes, which was enough time for the kayaks to arrive at the woman's location. One of the kayaks helped the woman make it to the safety of the shore 40 minutes later. The woman may have been in shock, but refused medical services offered by the Guam Fire Department Rescue personnel.
The Ipan buoy did observe a maximum wave height of 18 feet an hour later at 10:00 am (21/0000Z). The period of the wave was 8.6 seconds. The average swell was, however, lower at 5 feet with a period of 11 seconds. Based on the buoy, he average sea height at the time was calculated to be around 7 to 8 feet.
A High Surf Advisory was in effect at the time for surf of 10 to 12 feet along the east facing reefs.