Friends and neighbors are remembering Sandro Britz as a longtime Bay Area surfer and beloved Sunset District resident after he died following a rescue from the waters off San Francisco’s Ocean Beach.
Britz, 55, was pulled unconscious from the surf near Lincoln Way on May 28 after lifeguards spotted a surfer signaling for help just outside the surf line, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead, authorities said.
His cause of death has not been released.
The rescue happened around 1:20 p.m., when the fire department received a report of a surfer in distress. At about the same time, an off-duty National Park Service lifeguard who was surfing nearby and three on-duty NPS Ocean Rescue lifeguards saw a surfer waving both hands above his head, a recognized sign of distress, authorities said.
Sandro Britz, 55, was pulled unconscious from the surf near Lincoln Way on May 28 after lifeguards spotted a surfer signaling for help just outside the surf line, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead, authorities said. (San Francisco Fire Department)
The lifeguards swam out and found an adult surfer face down, unconscious and not breathing. They began lifesaving measures while bringing him to shore, where San Francisco paramedics continued advanced life support before transporting him to a hospital.
A GoFundMe organized for his wife, Michele Britz, described Britz as a longtime Sunset District resident who was “beloved by his friends, neighbors, and the surfing community.”
Friends in the Bay Area surfing community also mourned him online.
“He was a decades-long Bay Area surfer and resident,” Pam Morse wrote in a Facebook post sharing the fundraiser. “Always charging, always a light in the lineup.”
The fundraiser said Britz and his wife met in Brazil 14 years ago and later built a life together in San Francisco, working side by side and caring for their three dogs.
The money raised is intended to help Michele Britz with funeral costs, living expenses and care for the couple’s pets, according to the fundraiser.
Friends remembered surfer Sandro Britz, 55, as being “a light in the lineup.” (GoFundMe)
Ocean Beach is one of San Francisco’s most recognizable surf breaks, but it is also among its most dangerous stretches of coastline. The National Park Service warns that unpredictable tides and rip currents can pull people offshore, and says swimming at Ocean Beach is never safe.
The National Weather Service had issued a beach hazards statement for San Francisco and nearby coastal areas the day Britz was rescued, warning of strong rip currents and sneaker waves, according to the Chronicle.
Fire Capt. Jonathan Baxter described the water that afternoon as turbulent and “aggressive.”
He told the Chronicle on May 28, “We have large waves coming in very quickly, almost to the point where it looks like a washing machine cycle.”
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This article originally published at Longtime San Francisco surfer mourned after Ocean Beach death: ‘A light in the lineup’.