Surfing's Greatest Misadventures: Dropping In on the Unexpected - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0976951606 ISBN 13: 9780976951605

Publisher: Wilderness Press, 2006

Synopsis

The true stories in this one-of-a-kind collection cross the spectrum from terrifying to comical to downright bizarre. Prepare yourself for the most gripping and unbelievable stories about big waves, shark attacks, tsunamis, boating disasters, devastating wipeouts, pranks, and bad judgment calls. These thirty tales, by surf journalists, filmmakers, magazine editors, watermen, and everyday surfers, illuminate the less enchanting aspects of a life committed to surf.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Q & A with Editor Paul Diamond

How did you choose which stories to include?
I placed a call for submissions in surf magazines and on surf websites. I got in about 300 stories and choose about 7 of those stories. Additionally, I contacted about a hundred surf journalists and asked them if they had stories that fit the bill.

How long did it take to compile the stories for this book?
I spent a year and half gathering and editing the stories.

Is there a story that is particularly powerful for you?
The three most moving stories for me are:

1. "In a Place Called Transkei" by Terry Gibson. In this story Terry attempts to rescue his friend who is being attacked by a large white shark in South Africa--his friend was killed instantly. Terry spends a week helping to repatriate his friend's body, and contracts a case of rabies along the way.


2. "Heavy Water" by Shawn Alladio is about a professional rescuer who has only one chance to save a big wave surfer from death. The surfer was paralyzed from the neck down after taking a 40-foot fall. Shawn, a 45 year-old mom and a world renowned rescuer, puts her life on the line to make the rescue. This story gets your heart pounding as you read it.


3. "Lesson Six" by Ran Elfassy chronicles his beginner surf lesson in Sri Lanka in which he and his wife get caught in the Tsunami of 2004. He gets swept out to sea, while she disappears in a raging muddy current draining off the land. The story is heartbreaking.

The stories in this collection go way beyond any rough episodes I have ever had.

What is your greatest fear while you're in the water?
I have little fear of sharks. I should be afraid my own surfboard as I've cracked my head, banged my elbow and broken my toes and my nose on my board. But I am afraid of something else--getting caught in a current sucking out to sea, a really mean rip current, and then not having the strength to paddle back in. This has never happened to me, but in my research for the book I found two surfers (one in Washington State and one in Indonesia) who got taken miles out to sea, ironically the current took both surfers right past rescue boats which didn't spot them. The guy in Washington spent the night in 45 degree water. These two surfers considered their stories too personal to share with the world, so the stories do not appear in the book. Needless to say, their stories spooked me.

Have you had an encounter with Mother Nature or a creature in the water that has made you question what you're putting on the line while seeking a thrill?
I have had an orca surface next to me, a shark ram my thigh, a seal charge me, but I considered all of this to be the fun of the ocean. Also, I've had my share of hold-downs where I come up and the horizon is tilted and I'm seeing stars, but this is the kind of thing that happens when you push your comfort zone. I really don't put too much on the line when I surf and I don't surf the big waves.

What would you say the message of this book is?
I have never liked to sharpen stories to a moral point. The book's message is what you make of it.

You led a surf camp for four years, what is the most important thing you taught your surf campers?
We always go through a full "hazard evaluation" before entering the water. That is, I make them list out all the possible dangers they might encounter and how to avoid those dangers. Sun burn is the most likely danger while surfing.

From the Inside Flap:

Surfing’s Greatest Misadventures contains thirty of the most engaging, humorous and unbelievable stories of surfing life from the past fifty years. Culled from hundreds of submissions, the non-fiction stories selected for this one-of-a-kind collection run the gamut from the terrifying to the comical to the downright bizarre. The stories represent the highest quality, most engaging surf writing by journalists, magazine editors, watermen, and a handful of everyday surfers. The book features stories about surf legends such as Greg Noll, Miki Dora, Ken Bradshaw, Buzzy Kerbox, Laird Hamilton, Brad Gerlach, Tubesteak and many more.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wilderness Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0976951606
• ISBN 13: 9780976951605
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: Diamond Paul