"His wipeouts are right up there with Evel Kneivel’s."

Ain’t no intro’s necessary for former world number 24, the Australian big-waver and 2001 Eddie Aikau winner Ross Clarke-Jones. 

(Jamie Brisick summarises his career thus, “His wipeouts are right up there with Evel Kneivel’s.)

Two years ago, Ross, now fifty-five, appeared on Australian Survivor, a worldwide reality television franchise where a group of celebs are dumped on an island and compete in various survival challenges to avoid elimination etc.

Last person standing wins. 

Ross, who was cast as “Mad Dog”, broke his ankle in a rope-swing challenge gone wrong. 

As Who reported it, 

In a shocking moment during last night’s episode of Australian Survivor, contestant Ross Clarke-Jones was horrifically injured after a rope he was swinging on broke.

The big wave surfer was sent hurtling towards the edge of a wooden deck, causing him to hit his leg and snap his ankle.

While his tribemates made it across, the rope broke during Ross’s swing, sending him plummeting to the ground below.

The 53-year-old could be seen laying on the floor after his fall as a medical team rushed on set.

“The rope just broke!” Ross cried out in pain as the medics treated him.

The medical team deemed the injury serious and could be heard saying:

“The injury is serious enough that we need to take him off.”

Following the injury, Ross sued hell out of the producers of the show, taking his case to the Supreme Court, claiming, “At the date of injury, the plaintiff was a professional big-wave surfer with sponsorship arrangements, including with Red Bull and Quiksilver…The plaintiff is and has been since his injury totally incapacitated for his previous employment and claims past loss of earning and future loss of earnings.”

Ross, who was paid twenty-five thousand dollars to appear in the series which featured a half-a-million dollar first prize, said, “I haven’t felt pain like that.”

Before the case could hit the Supreme Court, howevs, Clarke-Jones and the producers he was suing, clearly realising there’d be nothing left in the kitty after lawyers fees,  sorted out a settlement beforehand.

The amount is confidential, although I’m guessing 150k or thereabouts.

Watch rope swing fail here. 

"Everyone is just blown away."

Great tragedy struck on the coast of New Zealand yesterday. Local media is reporting that, yesterday Jamie Civil died yesterday just after surfing in a competition at Aramoana, a beach near the southern city of Dunedin. Civil, 35, had wrapped his heat and decided to paddle back out for another session. Witnesses say he had just finished a ride when he was pulled under water and held down for some time. People both in the water and on the sand immediately rushed to save with with doctors and lifeguards performing CPR and using a defibrillator. He was airlifted out via helicopter but not able to be revived.

His partner and six-month-old daughter were on the beach at the time.

No novice, Civil was in great shape and had won a numerous titles with his brother-in-law Homa Mattingly adding, “He loved the big heavy barrelling waves, would often surf them on his own because no-one else was brave enough to enter the water.”

Lyndon Fairbairn, one of Civil’s friends and also member of the South Coast Boardriders Association told Stuff New Zealand that he had seen him ten minutes before the tragedy and,”He had the biggest smile on his dial, he was happy as. That’s how quickly the ocean can take you. And when it’s someone like Jamie, who everyone respects as a big wave surfer, he’s in 30s, he’s fit, healthy and to be taken, it’s a big shock to everyone. Everyone’s just blown away.”

The South Coast Boardriders Assoc. released a statement reading, “The New Zealand Surfing community lost one of its most respected surfers on Saturday, March 26, 2022 when Jamie Civil drowned while surfing huge waves at Aramoana. These were the conditions he lived for was talented and experienced with and thrived in, making the tragedy so much harder for people to process. Jamie’s partner Courtney and their baby daughter Lenni were at the beach when the incident happened. Jamie loved them both dearly. They had become a perfect part of his world and he loved the beautiful life they created and were building for their future.”

A crowd fund has been set up to support Civil’s young family.

Donate here.