| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkerson, Ray | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Hopwood, Mike | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Torres, Ivin | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded | Not recorded |
At around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, 1981, Ray Wilkerson(17), Mike Hopwood(17) and Ivin Torres(16) entered a 75 foot cave in a cliff adjacent to the ocean near Santa Cruz, California. One of them was supposed to remain above with a rope, but joined the other two. They explored around for awhile, then tried to get out. The tide had meanwhile started coming in and where they had waded in, it was now deep water and breakers. They could swim as far as the entrance but could get no purchase on the slippery rocks there. They retreated and began yelling for help. At first there was no one to hear them, but at around 6.30 p.m. a UCSC student, Jim Tessier, chanced by, saw the trapped cavers' shoes on the rocks below West Cliff Drive, knew the dangerous cave was there and took a look. Hearing their cries, he ran to a fire alarm box and summoned help. Firemen arrived quickly, lowered a chain ladder and coaxed the victims up. The tide, still coming in, had almost covered the entrance.
Entering a cave in the face of a sure flood, in this case the tide, is foolish. The lure of adventure is strong especially for the young.
Three youths trapped in Santa Cruz Sea Cave by rising tide were rescued by firemen.