--- 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=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2404 og:image:height: 1352 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=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Surfer Legend Laird Hamilton Rescues Family Stranded by Historic Kauai Flooding > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  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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