A man can be heard shouting, "This is not Christmas!" incredulously while exclaiming that he'd never seen a deer in the water before.
"We have no idea where he came from," Sheri Crummer, a judge for the surf tryouts told The Orange County Register. "That was the craziest thing I've ever seen."
The deer reportedly hopped over rocks and nearly collided with a surfer before surf team coach Tim Samson got on his board to herd the deer back to shore.
Lifeguards arrived on the scene to keep people away as they attempted to safely guide the deer to dry land.
"This is the first time in a long time I've heard of one swimming around in the ocean," Orange County Lifeguard Capt. Brad Herzog said. "I can tell you about dolphins, but a deer is a bit out of my range."
