A California fisherwoman endured a harrowing ordeal when a powerful sneaker wave swept her off the beach and into the ocean.
Bae Cadotte, 47, of Pacifica, was fishing Tuesday on the beach south of Pacifica Pier when the sudden surge hit, knocking her down and carrying her roughly 30 feet from shore.
The alarming incident was recorded by a webcam, which showed the wave crashing into Cadotte before pulling her into the churning surf.
“It felt like I was tumbling in a washing machine,” Cadotte told ABC.
Cadotte said the wave appeared with no warning, and she quickly understood just how serious the situation had become.
“It just swallowed me,” she said. “I knew at that point she came- I was going in. She’s going to get me. No way I’m getting out of this.”
As the rushing water carried her away, Cadotte said she stopped trying to battle the wave’s force and instead placed her fate in God’s hands.
“I closed my eyes, I said a prayer- God, if this is your will, I understand, but please don’t let me leave my son,” she said.
Cadotte eventually resurfaced after several minutes in the water.
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Nearby anglers rushed to help, throwing her a rope and pulling her back onto shore.
“Thanks for risking your life to save mine,” she told them afterward.
First responders arrived soon after and took Cadotte to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where she was treated for hypothermia.
She is now recovering at home.
Other ocean rescues have also been reported recently.
A mother and daughter were pulled into the surf at Baker Beach in San Francisco but were rescued.
Two Bay Area college students died after being swept into the ocean in Santa Cruz.
In Southern California, the danger was also highlighted after the body of 5-year-old Amada Mia Brown was recovered following a powerful rogue wave that swept her family into the ocean in Laguna Beach.
These waves are especially common along coastlines with steep, deep-water drop-offs, including parts of the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.
Sneaker waves are unusually large coastal waves that can surge far higher up a beach than expected. They are difficult to predict and can strike even on calm, sunny days with little to no warning.
Some researchers estimate that about three out of every 10,000 waves at sea reach “rogue” or sneaker-wave status.
