Newsmakers 2025: A year after wharf collapse, the worker who fell into the ocean is back to business as usual

This midwinter season, Lookout Santa Cruz is checking in with some of the people and topics we’ve covered over the past year.

Just imagine the harrowing scenario that Norm Daly lived through a year ago: He showed up to work on the wharf on a stormy day, and suddenly huge waves tore away the end of the wharf and sent him plummeting into a churning ocean. Would you willingly go back to work at that same location just days later? 

For many people, the answer would be a firm no. However, a year after a section of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf collapsed right under him, Daly survived to tell the tale and now seems unfazed by what he lived through.

“I do occasionally tell the story to people,” said the City of Santa Cruz development manager. “And they always say, ‘Oh my, God, that was you?’”

On a Monday morning this December, Daly was at work on the wharf again, just as he was at the same time last year. However, this calm, sunny day was much different than the one a year ago Tuesday when huge swells tore off the end of the municipal wharf while Daly and a colleague were standing on it.

Daly toppled about 25 feet into Monterey Bay when the wharf snapped off. The floorboards of the end of the wharf became an unconventional boat, bobbing on the massive waves with Daly and his colleague Grace Bowman, a construction engineer from contractor Power Engineering Construction, aboard but just barely.

Rescuers on jet skis plucked them from the churning sea. Daly emerged largely unscathed, aside from what he said was a pretty nasty contusion on his lower leg, which forced him to use a cane for a while.

“There were no broken bones or anything, but there was a lot of swelling. It took a while to recover from that, probably six to seven months. But I ditched that cane as soon as possible,” he said with a chuckle.

Daly said he has made a full recovery and now returns to the wharf regularly as part of his job.

“You always think about it, but nothing really changed. It was just an event that happened and there’s no lasting effects or mental reservations about continuing to work out here,” he said.

Daly quickly got back into the swing of things shortly after his dramatic dip. In the aftermath of the collapse, he helped manage the city’s assessment of the wharf’s stability and safety, which involved multiple departments. He said the only change to his job is that he’s more aware of changing weather and ocean conditions now.

“I think there’s more emphasis on safety, in the sense that being more cognizant of weather conditions is always important,” he said. “But we got right back to it, with much more thought about the integrity of the job site.”

A year on, Daly is still working on the wharf and, interestingly enough, focusing on the accessibility and resiliency of the famous pier. He said that crews are expanding and improving amenities as spelled out in the Wharf Master Plan. The city is in the planning stages of reinforcing the east parking lot, which strengthens the area and puts the wharf in a better position for future expansion. He also said that the city is mulling relocating the entrance gates farther into the wharf as well.

As for the end of the wharf, where Daly and his colleague fell in, crews are still working to get it open to the public again.

“We’re just concerned with restoring the existing end of the wharf to a condition where the public can use it safely,” he said. “We’re actually going to be providing additional sea lion viewing opportunities.” 

Despite his brush with disaster exactly a year ago, Daly doesn’t hesitate to take on city projects.

“I enjoy doing it, so as long as there’s a project they want me to work on, I’m happy to do it,” he said.

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