“If I wasn’t there, they would’ve been in the Bahamas or underwater. I just happened to be there and I’m glad I was.”
It sure does seem there were more drowning and almost drownings this northern hemisphere summer than ever before. Every day brings new tragic tales though, also, opportunity for heroes to rise and today we have a fine one. David “Bean” Coffee was out surfing New Smyrna Beach’s Clancy Park just before noon when potential tragedy struck.
“I just heard somebody yelling, ‘Help! Help,’” Bean Coffee told the local news. “I looked out in the water and saw somebody floating backwards, and I saw somebody else further in.”
The distressed pair happened to be a father and son who had become stuck in a rip current after the son’s leash had snapped.
Without a second thought, Bean Coffee paddled straight over to the son first. “He was underwater. I had to pull him up out of the water and put him on my board,” he said.
Bean Coffee then fought current and buoyancy, making it all the way to shore where he deposited the boy before paddling back out and fetching the father.
“If I wasn’t there, they would’ve been in the Bahamas or underwater,” he added. “I just happened to be there and I’m glad I was.”
Both father and son were fine and Bean Coffee now a hero.
What makes it all the more impressive is that he is a ripe old 72 years of age. A proper ancient.
Old old.
He has been surfing over 50 years and worked as a lifeguard with Volusia County so was uniquely positioned to be savior. “This was definitely a life-changing experience,” Coffee said. “Just to be able to save two lives to where they might not have ever been found — thank God I was there.”
Watch Bean Coffee shine here.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Probably rides 29.7lt boards too. What a champion. Hope ol’ Gil is flicking the bean like that at his age
Is this the guy that was in napolean dynamite and blades of glory?
Core score up!
Bean is great, he let me park in his driveway once when street parking was full and he saw me struggling to wedge my truck in. Most assholes on the street put up signs and rocks and stakes.
Harry Headgear. Guys got a mop a la Bob Keats. Anyone remember that guy from Haskells/Naples? Wonderful The Ramones-style head of hair.
Rings a bell, some odd ducks in that hood
You see what they did to the access road we hike from?
They put the Bacara there many moons ago and the waves suck anyway.
On the frontage road of the 33 heading to Meiners oaks were lines of homeless RVs, both sides of the highway, hundreds
VSheriff lost patience and kicked them all out, many relocated to any dirt in Gaviota including the parking to hike into Naples
They just kicked them out and barricaded the road, no parking.
Bacara is a dump
Come on Hip, there’s many, many ways into that area. I have personally never even used that frontage road. Used to park in the driveway to the old oil offices by Seals but that’s been gone forever. Still, many ways in though.
Could’ve Bean soo much worse…they should totally meet for Coffee one David!
So bad it’s good
Kung Foo Tudor lives in Florida now?
Dam! …beat me to it
joel looks so much better for the move , younger even somehow?
II’m Burning off at 3am
fuck your “rules”
Doesn’t look a day over 71 and a half.
Head of hair that would make Chaz jealous..
you hit the pool yet??
Nah! Got two days of solid surf from Erin. Pea Island the other night was doing it and the sand was good. Scored another spot last week little farther south that was good/epic. Couple you tubers showed up looks like they are keeping it under wraps unlike JSC east coast look alike put up on insta. I reckon he is cool in his own eyes cause he didn’t name it. Re: the pool all good reviews from a lot above average surfers. “Child Pirates uncle” pulled a hamstring going vertical out till mid Sept, a boog got nine stitches to the skull getting el rollo’d in the tube, and almost forgot my 70 year old mom surfed it! She fucking loved it..
Further note; Watched the young local ripper pro quarter finals at ECSC while waiting for the Bill Frierson paddle out. He has more footage than anybody in that tub. He lost his heat completely out of rhythm from my view made me wonder if the pool may have been the cause. Finally paddled out to pay respects and two drones collided and one of them zero’d in on my face right as I sat up from paddling..
Dude, no more photos?
Been waitin on ya
reads at a 72 year old level! prodigy!
where was Bean Coffee’s trusty sidekick Leaf Tea in all of this though?
Thought that was Joel Tudor at first. Good on ya!
Nah less wrinkles, this dude mustn’t smoke.