11/21/24
March 18, 2011
Big Wave Surfer Dies at Maverick's: Big-wave surfer Sion Milosky, 35, died Wednesday at Maverick's Beach in Half Moon Bay, Calif., when he wiped out and was held beneath the surface by a second wave. "He had this huge smile on his face and just turned around and paddled into this 50- to 60-foot wave," said surfer Ken "Skindog" Collins. "That was the last time I saw him." See video of Milosky surfing.
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posted by Debo270 at 01:15 PM on March 18, 2011
Why aren't they allowed
Cause dude a real surfer doesnt need the jet ski assist.
To be honest though, Some surfers say it messes with the "purity " of the sport, other say it is dangerous to have all the extra traffic to look out for and it makes the water to crowded.
posted by Debo270 at 01:20 PM on March 18, 2011
Colliding with a fellow surfer or his board is dangerous enough; colliding with a personal watercraft weighing several hundred pounds and capable of tremendous acceleration and speed could easily prove fatal. While I've never surfed in big wave competitions, many of the organizations I've surfed with on the East Coast refused to use jet skis for that reason.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 01:42 PM on March 18, 2011
If they don't use jet skis, how do they rescue people out of the water if they need to?
posted by bperk at 01:55 PM on March 18, 2011
In competitions I've been involved with (again, East Coast, where the break generally isn't that far offshore), lots of professional lifeguards on the beach, and on kayaks, surfboards or boats well beyond the break, where they can still respond quickly, but don't interfere with the competitors. The boats themselves don't respond; they merely serve as a platform for the lifeguards.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 03:23 PM on March 18, 2011
TBH Was it the sheer force/volume of water, or the aeration caused by the second wave defeating the natural buoyancy of the human body that held him down?
posted by steelergirl at 06:29 PM on March 18, 2011
One reason that jetskis might be dangerous near a big break.
steelergirl (if I can butt in) - the closest I came to never surfing again wasn't the initial wipeout, but being pushed under again by the following wave. I spent a long time down there. It was so black and coupled with the weight of the water, I couldn't tell which way was up. Eventually, buoyancy returned, but I still had to swim hard for the surface to make it up in time. This was in a 12 foot swell, and Mavericks is much, much bigger.
posted by owlhouse at 12:02 AM on March 19, 2011
Thanks for that bit of info, owlhouse. I imagine it is like being in a washing machine, getting smacked to the bottom then getting hit again before you could make a move.
posted by steelergirl at 02:14 AM on March 19, 2011
An apt analogy, steelergirl. Except that the washing machine in question is full of sandpaper...
posted by The_Black_Hand at 02:58 AM on March 19, 2011
I didn't understand the part about jet skis. Why aren't they allowed?