Surf Champ Saves Partner

Surf champ Laird Hamilton, known for his big-wave talents that have been documented in films, can add lifesaver to his resume. The star wave rider stripped off his shorts to create a makeshift tourniquet that prevented his surf partner from bleeding to death after a wipeout this week opened a large gash in his leg, reports the Honolulu Advertiser. Surfers described storm-fueled waves of historic proportions off the coast of Maui.

Brett Lickle, working alongside Hamilton, was surfing in an area called Outer Sprecks, known for its huge crests, when the accident happened. His calf was sliced open by his board's aluminum fin when an 80-foot wall of water crashed down on him. Lickle, who called it "the most intense thing I've been through," says he will be back in the waves once he recovers. (More surfing stories.)