“Please pray for Austin Gibbons. He is a fighter and a warrior.”
The popular New York surfer Austin Gibbons was rushed to intensive care yesterday following a wipeout at Pipeline on a day that was too deemed too big, and too unsafe for the world’s best surfers competing in the Lexus Pipe Pro.
The WSL was criticised hither and yon for not running the Lexus Pipe Pro on a day that was as spectacular as it was wild.
The legendary Hawaiian strongman Johnny Boy Gomes, winner of the 1997 Pipeline Masters and a man of “superhuman strength”, reacted angrily.
Although details surrounding the accident are scarce, New Yorker Balaram Stack posted a story on Instagram calling for prayers for his fallen pal.
“Say a prayer for Austin Gibbons. Went down at Pipe yesterday. In the ICU now. U got this kid.”
San Clemente surfer Max Beach, son of Electric sunglasses founder Bruce, posted:
“Please pray for Austin Gibbons. He drowned today at Pipeline. He is a fighter and a warrior. I love you brother.”
It’s been a horror season for injuries at Pipeline, this the sixth serious injury since December.
World number four Joao Chianca, Tahitian kingpin Eimeo Czermak, Pipe regular Koa Rothman and Peruvian shredder Joaquin Del Castillo were the big names sidelined proving it ain’t just the kooks getting belted.
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Things have sure changed on the North Shore since the 1980s, if Gomes merely expresses his disapproval with a keyboard.😁
Best wishes for a full recovery, to Austin.
any update?
Sea Fever
By John Masefield
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
That spray is tempting fate, no?
I can’t help but think of how “Cheeseburger” makes fun of people eating it at Pipe…..
He’s a modern hero for self medication, and social functioning…