“I was in the right place, at the right time, and I was able to help a friend and idol.”

—He came in a very precarious line: a straight line, descending to the base of the wave without turning. When you don’t bend, the wave hits you from behind, and that’s exactly what happened. The wave caught him on his back. After that, three more waves came. He would come up and breathe and someone else would come on top. The third time, he was on the verge of fainting – as he describes.

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Seeing Carlos falling, Lucas Chumbo, the big wave surfer who formed the back group, quickly drove his jet ski towards the veteran, but with the force of the following waves, his car overturned and he had to jump into the sea to find the veteran. When he found it, he stuck his head out of the water and activated his life jacket. It will arrive to complete the process:

– Chombo tried to save him, but he realized that he wouldn’t have time. He ditched the plane, jumped into the water and grabbed Pearl. At that moment I was motivated. I went down to the corner of the rock and, thank God, was able to locate them, largely because the plane was upside down. I headed in his direction and found the men. The scene was tense – according to Santana.

The Grand Knight found Lucas in good health and Pearl vomiting, but he was conscious and his signs were active. He was able to put them on the jet ski and take them out of the sea without danger.

– I took them to the sand, where we could work more safely, with oxygen and support. When I was able to fully reach Pearl, I noticed that his jacket was over-inflated, making it difficult for him to breathe. I was able to deflate him, put him in the correct position, and with the help of the rescuers he slowly started to come back. The surfer said he was given oxygen, released water and finally stabilized.

Santana was deeply moved by the rescue: it wasn’t a stranger’s life that he had just saved; But it’s a great friend.

-We have a very close friendship. I like Pearl a lot. He is a gentleman, a calm and generous man, always ready to give advice to our generation. When he comes to Nazareth, he often surfs with my boards. This makes a lot of sense to me, because when I got here, I used his boards too. It is as if the cycle has closed. Despite all that, despite all the history I have with him, living that moment was so powerful. I will probably never be able to explain exactly what I felt when I saved someone who had always been a role model to me. The only thing I carry inside me is gratitude that I was in the right place, at the right time, and was able to help a friend – and an idol – in one of the most sensitive moments of his life – said the 37-year-old great rider.