SEASIDE, OR (2022) “The Last Wipeout”

The seas were rough. The currents were strong. Things could get very gnarly, very fast.

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When I turned 60 I had the thought that I should power down my surfing in the coming years. Maybe limit myself to quieter days, when the waves were small. Or days when the weather was nice and there were a lot of people around, in case I had a problem: a bad cramp, an injury, a heart attack.

I had enjoyed a miraculously accident-free surfing career in Oregon. But in general, old people did not surf there. The seas were too rough. The currents too strong. Things could get very gnarly, very fast.

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Adding to that, I was an all-weather, year-around surfer. I went out in summer-time, in 2-3 foot waves. But I also went out in winter-time, in 6-8 foot waves. That might have to change, I thought to myself.

Also, I was a bit of a dare-devil. The crazier the conditions, the more I tended to push my luck. Even on days when I swore I’d go easy, once I got out there, anything could happen. I couldn’t help myself.

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But I didn’t power down at 60. I kept surfing, the same as before. I felt fine. I felt good. Still had the stamina. Still was able to manage a two-hour surf session. No loss in upper body strength. Not that I noticed.

I turned sixty-one and I was still okay. And surfing, it was literally a spiritual experience every time you went. Why would I ever want to stop? I turned sixty-two and I still felt like I was good-to-go.

And then one day, while surfing at The Cove, in Seaside, Oregon, I got into real trouble.

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