--- title: Surfer Laird Hamilton Rescues Family Stranded by Kauai Flood description: After Kauai was pummeled by more than 2 feet of rain in 24 hours, a family was rescued from the flooding by famed surfer Laird Hamilton. canonical: https://time.com/5246668/surfer-laird-hamilton-rescue-kauai-flooding/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-19T15:37:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:19.885Z og:title: Famed Surfer Laird Hamilton Rescues Family Stranded by Flood og:description: The Hawaiian island was hit by more than 2 feet of rain in 24 hours og:url: https://time.com/5246668/surfer-laird-hamilton-rescue-kauai-flooding/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d46782de246d622/69892e21656a3f601ebd42f1/kauai-flooding.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Hawaii Severe Weather og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Famed Surfer Laird Hamilton Rescues Family Stranded by Flood twitter:description: The Hawaiian island was hit by more than 2 feet of rain in 24 hours twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d46782de246d622/69892e21656a3f601ebd42f1/kauai-flooding.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Surfer Legend Laird Hamilton Rescues Family Stranded by Historic Kauai Flooding  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 19, 2018 3:37 PM UTC  This image taken from video provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows flooding along Kauai's Hanalei Bay, Hawaii on April 15, 2018. This image taken from video provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows flooding along Kauai's Hanalei Bay, Hawaii on April 15, 2018.Brandon Verdura—AP/Shutterstock  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 19, 2018 3:37 PM UTC After [Kauai was pummeled](http://time.com/5243003/hawaii-flooding/) by more than 2 feet of rain in just 24 hours over the weekend, a vacationing [San Diego](http://www.thedrive.com/tech/18859/san-diego-state-university-opens-drone-lab-to-jumpstart-uav-development) family found themselves trapped on the [Hawaiian island](http://time.com/5223791/shark-attack-kukio-beach-hawaii/). But as luck would have it, they happened to be staying just across the river from the home of Laird Hamilton. In the wake of massive flooding, mudslides and power outages caused by the heavy rain, the legendary surfer navigated his boat across the overflowing waterway to escort the Gwilliam clan to safety.  NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 05: Laird Hamilton visits Build Series to discuss "Take Every Wave: The Life Of Laird Hamilton" at Build Studio on October 5, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Pont/Getty Images) Mike Pont—Getty Images “We tried not to let the kids see, but I was terrified,” Erin Gwilliam told [Hawaii News Now](http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/37990923/legendary-surfer-laird-hamilton-rescues-family-stranded-on-kauai) of the hours leading up to Hamilton’s arrival. “He just kind of boated right up and was like, ‘OK, come through the mud and the slime and come throw your bags in and let’s go.'” And the Gwilliams weren’t the only people Hamilton lent a helping hand to that day. 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