Creative Commons/Dennis Yang

A surfer tackles the big waves at Mavericks Feb. 8, 2006

A proposal to allow trained and certified volunteers to use jet skis to perform rescues at the famous Mavericks surf break was widely lauded Thursday by officials who oversee a national marine sanctuary -- but the proposal comes with a catch.

While many surfers and surf photographers want to be allowed to patrol the towering offshore break using personal watercraft in case somebody is wiped out and needs to be rescued, a senior federal official said the vehicles would need to remain out of the water until after an accident occurs.

Such an approach could force an injured surfer to wait “20, 30, 40 minutes” before they are rescued, warned San Mateo County Harbor District manager Peter Grenell during a hearing Thursday of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council in Pacifica.

“I would think that the goal is to have the rescue operation have a boat in the water,” Grenell said. “Speed is of the essence.”

The use of personal watercraft at Mavericks, located offshore near Half Moon Bay, has long been controversial. They are generally banned by the federal government because of threats they pose to wildlife in a national marine sanctuary. 

Following highly publicized near-fatal and fatal incidents at the break this year, the federal government invited the San Mateo County Sheriff’s department to consider training and certifying volunteer rescuers. The personal watercraft ban does not apply to public safety agencies.

The sheriff’s department supports the idea, but warned Thursday that it would be expensive and could take a long time before such a program is launched.

“We’re still trying to identify funding for the equipment, for the training; there’s a huge amount of training costs that are involved in this,” Sergeant Joe Sheridan said. “It’s in the very beginning phase.”

Sheridan gave no indication when such a program could be launched.

Jeff Clark, the first man to surf at Mavericks and organizer of the winter Mavericks surf contests, urged the federal agency and sheriff’s department to implement a training and certification program before the winter, when Arctic storms brew enormous waves.

“It is the most volatile environment in the wintertime," Clark said. "That’s when we’re out there.”

Many of the sanctuary advisory members voiced strong support for such a rescue program, but no votes were cast and no formal decisions were made. County and federal officials plan to move forward with planning efforts.