Bravely paddling out after a near-death experience
There are a couple things that can happen to a surfer that can make it difficult to get back into the water:
One is a shark attack. Just ask three-time world champion Mick Fanning, who is going to take off half of the upcoming World Championship Tour season after an emotional year in 2015, which included an encounter with a Great White at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa in the final heat of the World Surf League’s J-Bay Open.
Another is nearly drowning, as was the case for San Clemente big-wave surfer Greg Long. Four years ago, Long was surfing Cortes Bank, a spot off the coast of San Diego.
Cortes Bank is a shallow seamount (a barely submerged island) that is 111 miles west of Point Loma. Basically, Cortes Bank is a series of underwater mountains, with the shallowest peak named Bishop Rock.
When the conditions are right, Bishop Rock helps create the massive waves that draw big-wave surfers like Long. And Long nearly gave his life after wiping out on a 25-foot wave and then being held underwater by two subsequent waves.
Long lost consciousness but was saved by D.K. Walsh, Jon Walla and Frank Quiarte, who were operating the rescue jet skis. Long not only recovered, but he returned to charging the big waves.
And just this week, four years after his near-death experience, Long was crowned the WSL’s Big Wave Tour world champion for the 2015-16 season. It is his second Big Wave title, having also won in 2012.
Conditions allowed for only three of the seven scheduled events to take place, and Long participated in just two of them. But his performances in the two were enough to lift him to the title.
Long, 32, missed the Quiksilver Ceremonial in Punta de Lobos, Pichilemu, Peru, but placed third at the Pe’ahi Challenge in Maui (the surf break also known as Jaws) and second at the Todos Santos Challenge off the coast of Baja, Mexico.
The 21,266 points Long accumulated beat out second-place Makuakai Rothman (16,994) and Billy Kemper (16,714), both from Hawaii.
“I love surfing big waves, and I love competing, but it really is the friends and family around the world that I get to share all of this with that make it as special as it is,” Long said. “It wasn’t just me competing those days. It was my family, who has been supporting me from day one and especially in the last couple years at a time when I didn’t even know if I wanted to surf big waves again.”
Long’s reputation as one of the world’s best big-wave surfers goes back a number of years. He was just 20 years when he won a big wave event at Dungeons in South Africa in 2003. He also won at Mavericks in Northern California (2008) and at the Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay (2009).
“To see Greg Long win another Big Wave Tour title is amazing,” said Peter Mel, the WSL’s Big Wave Tour Commissioner. “I was there at Cortes Bank, when he experienced his near-drowning. He could have easily stepped away from big wave riding at that time. To see him dedicate himself and overcome any negativity from the accident is an inspiration.”
Long seems to appreciate his accomplishment, taking nothing for granted.
“It is the experience on the whole journey to these competitions, these free surfs and everything in between that really fill me up and make me just every day acknowledge how lucky and special this life is,” he said.
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JOE HAAKENSON is a Huntington Beach-based sports writer and editor. He may be reached at joe@juvecreative.com.