SAN FRANCISCO — It was a dramatic rescue that has now been viewed over a million times and played across the country – a woman wearing a bikini holding on for dear life on the side of a San Francisco cliff. That woman is Maxime Rancourt.
“I was just going to go in the water a little bit. To have a cold plunge. Which I did for a moment. I was looking at the waves and said they are so beautiful. I’m a good swimmer but I don’t usually swim there,” she said.
Seconds later, Rancourt said a violent current pulled her in deeper.
“The current took me away from the beach. Almost 15 meters,” she said. “All of a sudden, I was pulled away and then I wasn’t very far yet. I thought I could still go in the water, but the water was so intense. It was the waves like this. I was stuck in the middle.”
Rancourt found herself stuck in the legendary Kelly’s Cove. The beach just south of the Cliff House is known for its strong currents and high-energy surf break. With poor visibility and her glasses on shore, Rancourt said she tried to swim to the first rock she could see.
“The current was extreme. I jumped and grabbed the rock to stay there, and the water was still coming at me,” she said. “Everything went so fast. I was on the rock and started climbing from left to right and then I realized that it wasn’t a good idea, but it was the idea to save myself in the moment.”
The scrapes throughout her body tell a story of survival and of at least 30 minutes of rocks piercing through her skin as she held on to the side of the cliff hoping someone would see her. Minutes later, a stranger that she now calls one of her angels saw her and called 911.
“He saw me and he said, ‘Hey!’ I didn’t have my glasses, and I could see a little bit, and he was trying to come closer, and he went down a little bit and was asking me if I was okay,” said Rancourt.
“What do you want to say to that person who called 911?” 7 Eyewitness News reporter Luz Pena asked.
“I want to say- thank you so much. Because I now have a future because of this person. I thought about it. My destiny was gone in one minute,” said Rancourt.
About five minutes later, the San Francisco Fire Department coastal rescue team got to her.
In the middle of our interview, we asked that rescue unit to surprise Rancourt.
“I wasn’t expecting that. I wanted to say thank you and say I’m alive and I see all the news about me,” she said. “Thank you for saving my life.”
7 San Francisco’s data team found that on average, 32 people each year need rescuing from cliffs per SFFD data. Rancourt is now one of those successful rescues.
“As you look at here you see these three rocks. It creates somewhat of a turbulent area, almost like a toilet bowl situation where the waves bounce off and it makes it really challenging to surf but, in her case, swim,” said Harry Higgins, Lieutenant for the SF Fire Department fire station 14.
Rancourt couldn’t meet the actual paramedics and firefighters who were there on Wednesday. Now, she is planning to go back to the fire station to take treats to the rescue team calling all of them her angels.
“I had a profound spiritual experience after that. I was so grateful to be alive. I could have died,” said Rancourt. “I’m just lucky, and I thank God.”
Meantime, she’s not planning to get into that water anytime soon.
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