Twenty-two stitches on his left ear, a concussion and a black eye.
Considering what could have happened – a brain, neck or spine injury, or even worse – Hayden Rodgers is one lucky surfer.
Hayden, a 14-year-old national surf champion and Volcom team rider, is at home in San Clemente recuperating after being rescued at the heavy surf break Pipeline on the North Shore of Hawaii last week.
The dramatic rescue on Dec. 19 happened in front of a beach filled with surf fans following the Billabong Pipe Masters, stopping 11-time world champion Kelly Slater who was in the middle of giving his Triple Crown of Surfing acceptance speech on stage.
“We have a rescue going on, I’m sorry, I’m a little distracted,” Slater said, looking beyond the crowd as rescuers pulled the unconscious Hayden to shore.
“Everyone watch out,” Slater called out to the crowd on the sand.
Young surf star
Hayden was born in Marin County before the family moved to Orange County a decade ago, first to Laguna Beach and for the past four years living in San Clemente, closer to world-class waves that allow him to follow his pro surfing dreams.
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He started catching waves at age 6, and by age 9 was picked up as a Volcom team rider.
The last couple of years he’s been a stand-out in amateur competitions. This year he earned the Under-14 title at the USA Surfing Championships at Lower Trestles, and in 2018 he won three National Scholastic Surfing Association championships — winning the Open Boys, Explorer Menehune and Junior Airshow divisions at the Huntington Beach event.
Hayden, the youngest member of the USA Surfing junior national team, takes a few big surf trips each year, traveling to places such as Tavarua in Fiji and the North Shore of Hawaii, working himself up to take on big barrels. He’s made surf publication headlines for years, with features on Surfline and Stab Magazine, which ran an article when he was 11 showing the 80-pound ripper riding tubes in Bali, noting that the best surfers in the world need to take note.
“It looks better when he does it,” the feature read.
So charging pumping four-to six-foot waves after the last World Tour contest wrapped up in Hawaii last week was not out of the norm for the young charger, who was among a group of surfers who hit the water just after the Billabong Pipe Masters wrapped up.
The dramatic rescue was first reported by Surfline.com, which described the moment Hayden got stuck at the top of a wave, free-fell with the lip to the bottom and got sucked over the falls of the next wave. His head slammed on the reef and he was held under for several waves.
Full recovery
Hayden’s father, Jerry Rodgers, said his son was “incredibly lucky” so many people were in the right place at the right time.
Bodyboarder Lindsey Yasui first spotted Hayden and knew he was in grave danger, hanging on to him on her bodyboard, along with surfer Jackson Bunch, until help arrived.
Two young Hawaiian surfers raised their hands and directed rescuers where to go. Just days earlier they had completed a BWRAG — Big Wave Risk Assessment Group — course that teaches surfers about water safety, and lifeguard and rescue techniques.
“It was chaos,” Jerry Rodgers said. “They pointed exactly where to go get Hayden. That saved valuable time.”
The Hawaiian Water Patrol also was on scene, including veteran North Shore lifeguard Terry Ahue on one ski, Brian Keaulana on another with son Chad, who jumped in the water to get Hayden out, and Pat Chong Kim on the third rescue ski.
“I’m told they did two quick compressions in the water before they jetted the ski into the sand,” said Jerry Rodgers, who was at home when the accident occurred.
Once on the sand, the North Shore lifeguards were able to stabilize Hayden and rush him to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, along with his mother Stacey and brother, Nolan, 17, where he was treated for a few days before he was able to return to San Clemente just before Christmas.
In the days following the incident, the family has received hundreds of messages from friends and strangers showing their support for Hayden. One stranger on the beach stopped Hayden after he was released from the hospital and started crying at the sight of the surfer.
“We would like to thank every single one of you,” Jerry Rodgers wrote on social media after the incident. “Hayden will make a full recovery, he will be out of the water for a little while but will be back stronger than ever especially with all the support from all of you … Hayden has always been a barrel hunter first and foremost and I don’t think that will ever change.”
Doctors have told Hayden he has to stay out of the water for four to six weeks, which won’t be easy, as the surfer is already talking about where he wants to go for his next surf trip.
One thing, though, will be different when he goes to chase barrels around the world.
“Those freak accidents can happen, pro surfers have gone down at Pipeline,” Jerry Rodgers said. “He absolutely will be wearing a helmet next time he goes out there, that is not debatable. Helmet is going to be required at four or five heavy reef breaks.”
The family also wants to support the lifesavers who helped rescue Hayden, possibly teaming up with the Positive Vibe Warriors, a nonprofit aimed at water safety started by the pro surfer Gudauskas brothers to give scholarships for surfers to take the BWRAG course.
Jerry Rodgers said the family is trying to stay positive. He said Hayden doesn’t recall anything from the incident but is piecing it together from social media posts and first-hand accounts from friends.
Before leaving Hawaii, the family got to thank lifeguards and many of the others who helped on the scene.
“We’re just so thankful he’s OK,” Jerry Rodgers said. “He got so lucky there were so many people there. Every minute counts, every second in that situation.”
Hayden, who is a 4.0 student at Tesla Academy in Irvine, also took to social media to give thanks to everyone involved in his rescue.
“I’ll be back in the water soon,” he wrote. “Thank you everyone I am so grateful to you all for saving my life!”
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