Surfing's Greatest Misadventures: Dropping In on the Unexpected [Paperback]

Paul Diamond (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2006

The true stories in this one-of-a-kind collection cross the spectrum from terrifying to comical to downright bizarre. It prepares you for the most gripping and unbelievable stories about big waves, shark attacks, tsunamis, boating disasters, devastating wipeouts, pranks, and bad judgment calls. These thirty tales, by surf journalists, filmmakers, magazine editors, watermen, and everyday surfers, illuminate the less enchanting aspects of a life committed to surf.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Diamond and McMahon have done well to focus on misadventures. There's something special about stories in which people find themselves in over their heads. It's a feeling familiar to any surfer, a reminder to be humble in the face of the awesome power of the ocean.

And in this collection, there's plenty of humility to go around. Terry Gibson loses a fellow surf traveler to a shark in South Africa's Transkei. Regular-guy surfer Joe Doggett finds himself in trouble while surfing Oahu's North Shore with friend and big-wave charger Ken Bradshaw. Shawn Alladio, one of the world's most experienced personal-watercraft drivers, rescues surfer Ian Armstrong after a massive wipeout at Dungeons in South Africa.

A surprising number of these stories go beyond a thrills-and-spills approach, penetrating deeper into the culture. Matt George's "Three Portraits of Sumatra" celebrates the surfing prowess of a new generation while also questioning whether today's traveling surfer exploits more than he explores. Ben Marcus' account of Miki Dora's antics and Steve Pezman's memories of sparring with Marines from Camp Pendleton at Trestles beach (now part of San Onofre State Beach) summon nostalgia for the old days of surfing, when the sport was the domain of beach bums and ne'er-do-wells.

Surfing's Greatest Misadventures makes for gripping reading as one would expect from a book with sections labeled "Sharks" and "Big Water, Big Trouble." But in the end, what's remarkable is how moving the stories can be. They stick in the memory. Just the other day, while walking back to my house after a surf session, I caught myself repeating one of the stories to a friend as if it were something I'd heard from another surfer. "By the people, for the people" indeed. --Los Angeles Times, Antoine Wilson

Required reading right here, a future staple of Surf Culture 101 collegiate classes. Much of surfing's enduring culture is passed along the chain of wave-riders and ocean folk through tall tales and reports from around the world. Surfing has its own historical mythology, and the intense bonding of sharing stories after a session, or during a flat spell, or while on a long slog of travel, adds to it. Surfers, some of the world's most colorful characters, consistently find themselves in activities beyond the average worldly experience. But the best voices, stories and storytellers are more likely to be found out in the field, out on the journey, along the trail of the tropics, and if you're not there, then you're not tapping the source.

Paul Diamond and Tyler McMahon did the legwork of corralling a remarkable collection of those stories and storytellers to produce Surfing's Greatest Misadventures: Dropping In on the Unexpected. The stories are so good this book achieves mass appeal; drama, humor, loss and gain, wisdom, failure, humility...serious literature, bro, go ahead and lose yourself. This collection features professional writers and editors mixed in with industry types, active participants and interested bystanders, and there's not a bad tale in the lot. Ben Marcus with Greg Noll on Miki Dora, Steve Pezman on Trestles then and now, a few selections of Matt George's incomparable style, Buzzy Kerbox, Shawn Alladio, Fernando Aguerre, Terry Gibson's heavy-duty tour of the Transkei; shark attacks, birds exploding jet engines, navigating storm-tossed seas for 12 hours with nothing but an AM radio signal, a surf contest for homeless guys...there is a lot here, and it's all good. Do yourself a favor and get this book, enjoy the heck out of it, and pass it on. --Surfer Magazine, Owen Michael

Misadventures. You know you love 'em. Big wave hold-downs. Shark attacks. Tsunamis. Boat wrecks. Pranks gone wrong. Just plain dumb. From the comfort of your living room, it's jolly good fun. And this collection is choc-a-block, just pouring over the brim with bad gone worse. --Surfing Magazine

A fun, exhilarating read that will make you cringe, make you smile, and surely make you glad that you are a surfer. Reading Surfing's Greatest Misadventures was a blast. Most of the stories are quick reads set in exotic locales with real-life lessons learned by really flawed surf-stoked maniacs, so there is something for all of us. --About.com, Jay DiMartino

The writing is really good--factual, even Spartan--and would pull anyone in, such is the drama... --BBC

From the Publisher

Q & A with Editor Paul DiamondHow did you choose which stories to include?I placed a call for submissions in surf magazines and on surf websites. I got in about 300 stories and choose about 7 of those stories. Additionally, I contacted about a hundred surf journalists and asked them if they had stories that fit the bill.How long did it take to compile the stories for this book?I spent a year and half gathering and editing the stories.Is there a story that is particularly powerful for you?The three most moving stories for me are:

1. "In a Place Called Transkei" by Terry Gibson. In this story Terry attempts to rescue his friend who is being attacked by a large white shark in South Africa--his friend was killed instantly. Terry spends a week helping to repatriate his friend's body, and contracts a case of rabies along the way.
2. "Heavy Water" by Shawn Alladio is about a professional rescuer who has only one chance to save a big wave surfer from death. The surfer was paralyzed from the neck down after taking a 40-foot fall. Shawn, a 45 year-old mom and a world renowned rescuer, puts her life on the line to make the rescue. This story gets your heart pounding as you read it.
3. "Lesson Six" by Ran Elfassy chronicles his beginner surf lesson in Sri Lanka in which he and his wife get caught in the Tsunami of 2004. He gets swept out to sea, while she disappears in a raging muddy current draining off the land. The story is heartbreaking.

The stories in this collection go way beyond any rough episodes I have ever had.What is your greatest fear while you're in the water?I have little fear of sharks. I should be afraid my own surfboard as I've cracked my head, banged my elbow and brooken my toes and my nose on my board. But I am afraid of something else--getting caught in a current sucking out to sea, a really mean rip current, and then not having the strength to paddle back in. This has never happened to me, but in my research for the book I found two surfers (one in Washington State and one in Indonesia) who got taken miles out to sea, ironically the current took both surfers right past rescue boats who didn't spot them. The guy in Washington spent the night in 45 degree water. These two surfers considered their stories too personal to share with the world, so the stories do not appear in the book. Needless to say, their stories spooked me.Have you had an encounter with Mother Nature or a creature in the water that has made you question what you're putting on the line while seeking a thrill?I have had an orca surface next to me, a shark ram my thigh, a seal charge me, but I considered all of this to be the fun of the ocean. Also, I've had my share of hold-downs where I come up and the horizon is tilted and I'm seeing stars, but this is the kind of thing that happens when you push your comfort zone. I really don't put too much on the line when I surf and I don't surf the big waves. What would you say the message of this book is?I have never liked to sharpen stories to a moral point. The book's message is what you make of it. You led a surf camp for four years, what is the most important thing you taught your surf campers?We always go through a full "hazard evaluation" before entering the water surfing. That is, I make them list out all the possible dangers they might encounter and how to avoid those dangers. Sun burn is the most likely danger while surfing.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wilderness Press; 1 edition (February 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976951606
• ISBN-13: 978-0976951605
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Surfing

More About the Author

Paul Diamond grew up in Washington, D.C. where he had his own break dance crew, did an internship for then senate majority leader Bob Dole, and than sang in a punk band (in that order). He worked as a photojournalist for United Press International in Pittsburgh and later taught writing at Ohio University and then at Tulane University. He spent five summers leading packs of kids at surf camps in Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Baja California. He now lives in Seattle and works as an editor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wide open eyes to a wide open ocean with a wide open mind., February 27, 2006

By 

Andrew Christman (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Surfing's Greatest Misadventures: Dropping In on the Unexpected (Paperback)

Surfing's Greatest Mis-adventures is a journey into real-life situations that would make most of us turn white with fear, or drop to our knees in hysterical laughter. The stories are concise, exceptionally well written, and captivating in a riveting sort of way. I was glued to this thing from start
to finish. As a whole it is a respectful contribution to the sport. I often found myself taking a moment to picture the events of the stories in my minds eye. This book is a must have item for any surfer. It's also a good way to pass the time during flat spells. And at the very least, it's a thrilling bathroom reader.

Both my father and I have read the book. He is an intense skier, climber and biker; however, he lives in Seattle and is not a big surfer. The other day, while driving back from Whistler Mountain, he called me, and we talked about the
book. He also thought it was a great read, and remarked that he never realized the level of commitment and intense efforts that surfers exert just to find their peak euphoric moments.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great stories, told in traditional surfer (embellished) fashion..., November 4, 2006

By 

Greg Becker (San Clemente, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Surfing's Greatest Misadventures: Dropping In on the Unexpected (Paperback)

Surf stories are always the best things surfers write about. Maybe because they are such interesting people who usually sail along in the tradewinds of life but still find themselves in the most extraordinary circumstances. This group of stories nailed the genre just right, the way Steve Pezman explained the mystery of the trestles situation in the Nixon years, Matt George's very strange experience in Northern California, and on and on. I would lend it to one of my other surfer friends, but I will want to read it again and again year after year. This is a book you would never want out of your possession, but keep it in the car, take it to the beach and pass it around but be sure to get it back. What a treasure. Have any more stars?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for surfers and non-surfers alike, February 24, 2006

By 

AT (Pacific NW) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Surfing's Greatest Misadventures: Dropping In on the Unexpected (Paperback)

Great collection of well-written stories (including some by surfing notables). Doesn't matter if you surf or not, the narratives will draw you in.