Tubular mishap comes out in wash

Marisa O’Neil

It was a tubular adventure that deflated. Or, maybe he just wanted a

swift-water ride to the Pacific.

But whatever it was, an unidentified, 20-something man in a

wetsuit and booties launched himself in an inner tube from the beach

at 56th Street at about 3 p.m. Sunday and floated out to sea, Newport

Beach Lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer said.

At some point, the unharmed man made it back to shore, but not

before friends had to report him missing, and a search party went out

looking for him.

The man, believed to be a Newport Beach resident “wound up

floating down to the [Santa Ana] River, which was flowing pretty good

at that point,” Bauer said.

“He went out during one of the heaviest squalls that day.”

The current from the storm-swollen river emptying into the Pacific

caught the tube and started carrying it out to sea, Bauer said.

At the height of the rain, stirred up by a weather pattern known

as the Pineapple Express, friends lost sight of the hapless explorer,

Bauer said.

The friends were standing on the beach, videotaping his exploits,

he said.

They reported the lost tuber to lifeguards, who sent two guards

out on a personal watercraft to search for the man, Bauer said.

A fire battalion chief, lifeguards from Huntington State Beach and

a boat from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol in

Newport Beach all responded to the scene.

Nobody could find him.

Then, about an hour later, he made his way back to the beach near

Brookhurst Street in Huntington Beach.

He was well and injury-free after floating out about a

quarter-mile offshore, lifeguards there reported.

“There were a lot of resources being used for somebody doing

something not real smart,” Bauer said.

“It puts people’s lives at risk, boats driving around in a pretty

heavy river current. We want to make sure the rescuers don’t get

hurt. In those conditions, anything can happen.”

The man was not cited. But it’s illegal to be in a flood control

channel, Harbor Patrol Sgt. Karl Von Voigt said.

“It’s not a good idea being in the river this time of year,” Von

Voigt said.

“Someone’s going to see you and call us.

“All the resources used could be used someplace else, where

they’re needed.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618.