Good to know that she's recovering in hospital after being resuscitated on the beach.
DJ
The guy on the ski was a tool. She survived the pummelling from the wave but almost didn't survive the "water safety". Makes you appreciate how cool the boys on the skis have to be under pressure. That guy was obviously not.
The guy on the ski did seen to react quickly when he realized she was out cold though. Quick thinking ditching his ski and dragging her in. All I can say is that chick has a large set of figs!
Seems like if he didn't run her over twice she would have been fine on her own from that position.
The guy on the ski was the one who resuscced her on the beach and was then also the guy who went back out and rode what is claimed to be the biggest wave ever ridden. A tool? I think that's a bit harsh. According to eyewitness reports she was out cold when he got to her. I'd like to have a 'tool' like that looking out for me if I was out in that
Select to expand quotedan berry said..
The guy on the ski was a tool. She survived the pummelling from the wave but almost didn't survive the "water safety". Makes you appreciate how cool the boys on the skis have to be under pressure. That guy was obviously not.
I thought he over shot her twice badly, but remember she did have a broken leg at that point also, so she would have been slow to react as well. The footage of her floating face down is pretty daunting
It was Carlos Burle, one of the most experienced big wave guys around. Good ski pickup requires the person in the water to be sharp and quick to react as well. You sit in the soup on a ski for ages and you're both going to be in a world of pain. She obviously didn't have the energy to get to the ski and grab on.
The real issue, is that while she may have balls of steel, she appears to lack the skill required to be in those conditions. Props to her for going waves that I wouldn't even consider....but...Second near death for her...maybe time to reassess. Power stance to the beach doesn't cut it. Her approach to giant Chopes probably should have got her killed. (luckily she had Carlos there (again) to save her...
Easy for me to say from the armchair...but they were errors in skill not bad luck.
The lads and ladies (like Kealla) that do it well are good surfers and brilliant watermen/women.
He failed twice to get a hand on her (while still being close enough to hit her with the ski or sled). How do you consider that good work??
From all the tow footage i've seen, the driver's job is to get as close as possible to the fallen rider. He can't physically reach down and grab them, while also controlling the ski. It's then the riders responsibility to grab on before the situation gets critical. It appears to me that he does this pretty darn well in tough conditions. When he realised the situation was critical he ditches the ski at the perfect moment to grab her straight away and get her into shore. Don't know what else you expect him to do??
Select to expand quotedan berry said...
He failed twice to get a hand on her (while still being close enough to hit her with the ski or sled). How do you consider that good work??
Mick said -
It was Carlos Burle, one of the most experienced big wave guys around. Good ski pickup requires the person in the water to be sharp and quick to react as well. You sit in the soup on a ski for ages and you're both going to be in a world of pain. She obviously didn't have the energy to get to the ski and grab on.
^ that's why.
She had enough energy to hang on to the rope whilst being dragged under water. Also won't be surprised to find out her leg was broken by the ski.
stabmag.com/news/carlos-burle-saves-maya-gabeiras-life-surfs-biggest-wave-ever/
from the horses mouth...broke her ankle on the wave...to weak to jump on the sled...
Select to expand quotedan berry said...
He failed twice to get a hand on her (while still being close enough to hit her with the ski or sled). How do you consider that good work??
She's alive.
How do you think she would have gone if he wasn't there?
Considering she was in standing depth water when she went face down. I recon she would have been fine. She didn't seem to really go down until the flushing she got at the end of the rope. But at the end of the day she's alive and that's the main thing.
And Laird said.. magicseaweed.com/news/laird-carlos-wiped-out-maya-no-skill/5749/
Me and laird spoke last night and are in complete agreement. 
it's my opinion that guy heavily contributed to her position and I'll still put my money on her leg being broken by the skis second pass. Typical brazzo attitude reading his interview as well.
He got it way wrong, He offered her the sled, as you can see, turned the sled toward here so she had to climb on then hold on.
He should have(and it's really easy to do as i give away 20kgs to my tow partner) done a rescue pickup. You approach the person in the water keeping them on the left side of the ski grab their arm, then all you do is lean back and as your body straightens the person in the water pops straight on to the sled.
It's quite easy to do and i even think that's what she was expecting him to do
Select to expand quotedan berry said..
Seems like if he didn't run her over twice she would have been fine on her own from that position.
would have to agree if he had picked her up properly the first time which he could have done, instead of running her over with the sled then skull dragging her under water, their technique leaves a lot to be desired
Jarryd
You have to give Carlos credit where it's due - he tried 2 different approaches, the first one failed which was obviously due to the fact that she didn't do what he assumed she would have (probably due to her injuries & weakness) - so he went back and used the rope, which obviously didn't get her high enough through the foam but got her closer to shore & further away from the danger area, unfortunately also causing her to inhale water. The third attempt was a gutsy move - risking his safety by dumping the ski. First rule of rescue is "don't put yourself at risk" - he did and she's alive because of that.
You can train and practice rescue until the cows come home, and in the case of surf rescue - most of the time it requires both rescuer & rescuee to be involved. Put it to practice though with a mix of whitewater, adrenalin, confusion and injury and it's another beast...Cudos to Carlos for saving her IMO.
As for Laird's comments...well he is the King - so I've got nothing. 
fck me.. there's a lot of ski riders here who can perform perfect rescues every time in 20ft plus conditions..
The guy saved her life in very heavy circumstances
^^^ yep Lots of keyboard Heros in here....
I'd guess none of u would have any ****ing idea what to do in that surf... Let alone drive a ski and perform a rescue...
He didn't drag her by choice he was getting her the **** out of there cause she was rooted.. It's more her fault for putting him in that situation than him for dragging her..
Well yeah i do practice???
Carlos made the wrong decision, the type of pickup was the wrong.
In my opinion he caused her damage and drowning so I'm glad she ok now
What happened to the rope loops the guys used to carry on the ski's you just hang the loop out and get it over the arm and drive off as the patient gets swung around onto the sled?
I've said it before a company i managed completed the Ski rescue work for the Margaret river masters for a few years, Just before they changed the big wave ruling to make it compulsory to have ski rescue. I never actually did the rescue work as i had a team of guys who worked for me who spent the entire week down there. (i would just go down for the parties and all the glory
) and it is harder than it looks. The biggest issue they found was the water movement. You would be dead on only for a slit second side ways surge and you'd be off. We found a lot of it came down to the Surfers to get a good hold but there were a few memorable picks up that had praises from most of the pros on tour
Often for us the biggest issue was to pick them up if they got caught on the inside after going right. In a big set you didn't get a lot of time to get in, pick up and get back out before the next wave hit pushing you all onto the table..
Ski's have opened up big wave surfing like you wouldn't believe and IMHO i don't get Laird's opinion (i haven't read it other then the headlines). She made the wave, broke her ankle and needed to be recused and passed out due to exhaustion. She was picked up, resuscitated and live to tell the tail. Should she have been out there, why not, she proved it was with in her skill and so did her team
Just shows the danger involved, and i guess a few may be upset because they feel a girl is out doing them. Who knows why
Still nasty footage to watch though..
Select to expand quotedan berry said..
Considering she was in standing depth water when she went face down. I recon she would have been fine.quote]
Because standing and walking on a broken ankle/leg isn't a problem?
Good luck with that on dry land let alone in whitewater after a 20ft plus wave...
