Richard “El Pirata” Abrams is a true waterman who was trained by the legendary big wave surfer Dempsey Holder and master surf photographer Tom Keck. As a lifeguard, he watched over swimmers and surfers at Imperial Beach in Southern California for 18 years. He came to Playa Dominical to retire and enjoy his golden years in peace.

According to a press release published by Surfline, Richard Abrams’ lifeguard instincts came back to him last month at Dominical when he noticed a young Tico surfer having difficulty out in the swells. Mr. Abrams paddled out to where he noticed the abandoned surfboard, pulled on the cord of the ankle leash and found 19-year old Oscar Manuel in need of rescue.

As he performed emergency mouth-to-mouth breathing on Oscar right on the water, he was joined by another former lifeguard, Randy Miller. Without fins or any rescue equipment, the two men were able to pull Oscar out of the ocean and into the back of a pickup truck. Oscar’s father was with them as they continued CPR and headed towards the nearest hospital in Quepos. Oscar recovered and is now back to surfing and skating, as you can see in his Facebook timeline.

The Surfline article mentions that Mr. Abrams would like to reinstate the lifeguard service at Dominical. A website for an organization named Dominical Salvavidas SA indicates that at one point there were six certified lifeguards on the beach at Dominical, although there have been no updates on that page since August 2011. It seems that in 2005, the lifeguard service had the support of volunteers and expert training from American lifeguards.

In 2009, sports daily Al Dia reported that strong rip current conditions claimed the lives of 27 people in a period of three years during Semana Santa. Oscar Manuel was lucky to have been rescued by Mr. Abrams and Mr. Miller; in December of last year, the body of a young man from Cartago was recovered two days after strong currents pulled him out to sea about 4 nautical miles from the shore. Dozens of drownings take place in Dominical each year.

If you are interested in helping Mr. Abrams in his noble effort, please contact him at 8331 7707.