Another man down.

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

Sadly, another local windsurfing friend and old timer (65) drowned at our local surf beach a few days ago. He was fit (keen cyclist also) and competitive but had apparently been put onto heart medication by his doctor, to help keep a higher than normal beat in check.

We don't know what really happened, but when he was missed and found floating in the sea he had drowned. His face was damaged, and his sail was split so we can only surmise that he fell heavily while fully lit up, possibly from blacking out with the effort when his 'slowed' heartrate was unable to compensate. In retrospect he shouldn't have 'pushed ' things, but you know how it is.

When such a thing happens to a friend, and close to home, it really does sadden, and make you appreciate just how precious life really is. All that he was, what he felt and thought, the daily routine, the memories of past highlights, and the looking forward to the future, all that just snuffed out in an instant, for ever. Just like that! (None of us believe in life after death. Death is final.)

It's difficult to imagine it could happen to us, we are just too involved in all the pressures and routines of daily life. The thought of death simply doesn't make any sense. But I can't think life has any meaning or purpose. It just is, and that's all that can be said about it!

You'll be missed Trevor.

J64TWB · Joined: 24 Dec 2013 Posts: 1685

Sorry to hear about your friend GT. Best to you.

coboardhead · Joined: 26 Oct 2009 Posts: 4303

GT

I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like he lived life well. That is really what matters, isn't it?

MalibuGuru · Joined: 11 Nov 1993 Posts: 9300

So sorry to hear this GT. We do the best we can, and must try to be good people and make a difference.

Your story is very frightening and real to me, because today I was rescued after an off the lip on a southern hemi swell and big winds. I hit so hard and contorted on the wave face that I broke my ankle. Stuck in the footstrap (front only) as waves broke over head. I almost drowned because I was contorted upside down and twisted in the surf. Finally found a way to un-jam my broken ankle and catch a gulp of air.

I will be forever thanking the 5 guys and 1 woman who dragged me out and the lifeguards who helped. I only wish that one of them or myself was there to help your friend.

coboardhead · Joined: 26 Oct 2009 Posts: 4303

Holy Sh!t SB! Hope you're O.K!

GT's comment that it can all go to hell in an instant hits home! I hooked a handlebar on a tree today on my lunch time single track ride and narrowly missed going over the side...big drop...life flashed before my eyes. The things we live for can turn on us!

keycocker · Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 3598

Sorry GT.
Glad you made it Bard and CB.
Life isn't safe.
The message to me is
Go for it in life.
You only have a little moment to do this. Put your foot through the TV.

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

Well, the message seems clear; we all need a little help and/or luck at times.

Glad you made it Steve. Not a good experience, and a close call. The sea may fascinate us, but it doesn't care, does it! (The ankle will mend.) And C.B. don't you feel that you should stop attacking trees and almost 'hucking' yourself off cliffsides - at your somewhat mature years. (What have you got against trees anyway!)

Perhaps we should heed John Millington Synge. (Even if he wasn't a windsurfer.)

' A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drownded, for he will be going out on a day he shouldn't. But we do be afraid of the sea, and we do only be drownded now and again.'

I've always liked the way he put it! Exclamation

KGB-NP · Joined: 25 Jul 2001 Posts: 2856

GT,

Sorry for your loss, but when you think of it, what a great way to go. That beats the hell out of cancer or the likes thereof.

Bard,
Been there done that one myself. Rotated my foot around backwards in late October's cold air and waters. By the time I was on shore I was about to lose consciousness due to the hypothermia. Luckily I controlled the outcome by insisting the EMS was on shore prior to them towing me in and flushing my suit with freezing cold water. The good part was I was so damn cold I couldn't feel the pain.
I now run my straps so loose that I have to crank my feet outward in the straps before I jump. Went to huck a backloop attempt on the Bomboora in PSC and forgot the crank only to yard sale my quiver some 40 feet away from me....not that I would have landed it anyway...because I suck...
Hope that ankle mends well and little soft tissue damage. That's a bitch at the beginning of summer! I had my son out MTBing on Monday and I kept telling him to slow it down because broken bones will ruin his summer, and well, I'm hoping he can work for me this summer. Get in the pool as soon as you can. It is the miracle physio for most injuries.

cgoudie1 · Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 10:49 am Post subject: Re: Another man down.

My condolences to his friends and family. Life without risk would be
so dim. We can exist, but we live to risk. May the joy
of his memory live on within you.

-Craig

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

It's such a shock when someone we know and care about dies. Yet, when death comes quickly without warning, it might be considered a blessing of sorts, because no one wants a slow painful end. At such times, it abruptly reminds us of our own end that always lurks around a corner at some unknown time and place in the future.

In the end, I would take Craig's message to heart. "May the joy of his memory live on within you." In my own experiences, I have found that friends and family that have passed away are still very much alive in my dreams.