Two Hawaiian lifeguards invented the rescue sled in the '80s that now backs up every big wave session. Here's how the safety system works.
Who actually rescues you when you can't help yourself anymore — and how fast does it have to happen? The honest answer: between the waves of a set, often only a window of 7 to 18 seconds remains for a rescue — roughly the time to calmly recite the alphabet twice. A rescue in the impact zone practically never gets to take longer than that.
What makes it possible is a device two Hawaiian lifeguards, Brian Keaulana and Archie Kalepa, invented back in the 1980s: the rescue sled, a padded flotation element mounted on the back of a jet ski. From that invention grew an entire safety culture — including the Big Wave Risk Assessment Group (BWRAG), founded in 2011, which still shapes the scene's risk thinking today.
The sled is mounted via three attachment points on the jet ski's stern and has numerous webbing handles a surfer can grab onto in an emergency. It was developed because classic swim rescue in the impact zone is simply too slow and too dangerous for the rescuer as well.
Between the waves of a set, only 7 to 18 seconds of gap often remain — the only safe window in which a jet ski can even approach the impact zone without getting caught by the next wave itself. Every rescue has to be planned around this rhythm, not against it.
The BWRAG sums up safety in three questions: Knowledge — do you know the spot's reef, currents and zones? Abilities — how strong a swimmer are you, how calm under pressure? Technology — does your vest work, is the jet ski coordinated, is your emergency kit ready? Only someone who can honestly answer all three should paddle out on a big day.
The BWRAG was founded in 2011, the same year Sion Milosky died at Mavericks — no coincidence, but a direct response from the scene to too many needless deaths. Since then it has systematically trained surfers worldwide in risk management instead of pure chance.
Who drives the ski, who watches from shore, who surfs, who's pure rescue support? These roles need to be fixed before the session, not improvised mid-rescue. The clearer the division, the faster the team reacts in an emergency.
A safety team is no substitute for your own caution — it's the last backstop when everything else fails. Clarify before every session who takes which role, check the jet ski's rescue gear, and accept that even the best team has only a window of a few seconds to help.
Before every big day, honestly ask yourself the BWRAG's three KAT questions: knowledge, abilities, technology. If you hesitate on any one of them, that's not a formality — it's your answer to whether this is the right day for you.
Hawaiian lifeguards Brian Keaulana and Archie Kalepa developed it back in the 1980s, mounting padded flotation elements on the back of jet skis — a faster, safer alternative to classic swim rescue in the impact zone.
Often only 7 to 18 seconds — the gap between the waves of a set. In that tight window, the jet ski has to approach, pick up the surfer, and get back out of the impact zone before the next wave arrives.
Knowledge, abilities and technology — three questions the Big Wave Risk Assessment Group uses to check your own big wave readiness: do you know the spot? How strong a swimmer are you? Does your gear work? Only if all three check out is it the right day.
The organization was founded in 2011, the same year Sion Milosky died at Mavericks — a direct response from the scene to too many preventable deaths. Since then it has trained surfers worldwide in structured risk management instead of pure chance.
Big Wave Surfing: Getting Started and Overview