Past the breakers, about 50 feet from shore, two brothers were fighting for their lives. They had been swept out to sea in a strong current, their mouths barely able to stay above the 1. Thick fog made it difficult for beachgoers to see the guys, but the screams were unmistakable. And every second counted.
2, four surfers in wet suits were nearby. Narayan Weibel, Spenser Stratton, Adrian York and Taj Ortiz-Beck, all 16, were on their surfboards riding up and down the coast on five-foot waves when they heard the 3. They turned and saw two bobbing (摆动) heads and four flailing (扑打) arms. "We looked at each other and knew these guys were about to drown (淹死)," Weibel told the reporter.
Weibel, Stratton, and Ortiz-Beck paddled (用桨划) toward the swimmers while York headed to shore to find someone to call 911. He then dived back in to 4 his friends.
As the surfers drew close, the brothers were 5. Ortiz-Beck pulled up alongside the one brother. Grabbing him under his arms, he pulled him up onto his board. Stratton and Weibel, meanwhile, were trying to help the other. He was large, 250 to 300 pounds, and he was panicked. "Calm down—we 6 you!" Weibel shouted.
York arrived 7 to help get the guy on top of the second board. They then paddled several minutes through a wild current to the medical help waiting onshore. The brothers were scared but 8.
"When we get a call like this one, it's usually too 9 by the time we get there," says Dillon Cleavenger, the lifeguard, "I can't say enough about what these boys did. They were willing and prepared to 10 their lives."
