Big-wave legend Ross Clarke-Jones’ hand “close to being amputated” after wipeout on thirty-foot wave

Surf icon enjoys cigarette after wiepout that nearly cost him his paw!

The Australian big-wave surf icon, Ross Clarke-Jones, affectionately known in celebrity circles as Mad Dog, has narrowly avoided having his hand amputated after a wipeout on a thirty-foot wave at the recently completed Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational.

Ross, who was famously born on 6/6/66, has long eluded all methods available in the drama of nature to eliminate him from this earthly realm.

Five years ago, while appearing in a Celebrity Survivor series, Ross snapped his ankle on a rope swing, an injury so devastating he was “totally incapacitated, depressed, broke and anxious”.

Two years without surfing. Couldn’t even step on a surfboard. Was scared of even going into the water in case he fell and did more damage.

Says if he’d had a gun he would’ve shot himself.

At this year’s Eddie contest, Ross, who won the event in 2001, wiped out, snapped his board and the fibreglass shredded his hand so bad the contest nurse said he was this close to losing his paw.

Pretty minor injury for ol Ross, who busted his ribs and was knocked unconscious on this third visit to Hawaii in 1987. In 1992, he was nearly despatched to heaven while surfing in Indonesia. That same year, he busted his back surfing Off the Wall and in 1998, him and his tow buddy Tony Ray got belted by a monster set at Outside Log Cabins and were eventually found, floating on their flooded jetski, outside of Haleiwa Harbour.

Yeah, and in 2019, Nazaré almost got him.

What impresses most about this particular injury, this event, is Ross’ response, calmly enjoying a heater while the nurse pulls the shards of fibreglass out of his myriad wounds, and which was posted on his son Kanan’s Instagram.

“Edit goes hard,” writes Nathan Florence.

Ross’ old sparring partner Rob Bain, who nearly drowned at the Billabong Pro at Waimea Bay in 1986 and who celebrated his new shot at life with a cigarette on the beach wrote,

“Marlboro light and a beer at the bay. Brings back memories!! Onya.”

Glory days.

 

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A post shared by Kanan Clarke-Jones (@kanancj)