Still Celebrating You Mark Foo

February 3rd, 2013

“Waves are the voices of tides. Tides are life.” – Tamora Pierce

Foo helped elevate the popularity of the sport, with his talent, courage, and enthusiasm, and was certainly recognized as one of the greatest big-wave surfers to ever ride the waves. Mark was a favorite subject of photographers, and he had his own cable television surfing program. “If you want to ride the ultimate wave, you have to be willing to pay the ultimate price” was Foo’s philosophy, which he certainly lived until the day of his final ride.

In the surfing sport, Mark Foo’s death has brought about a continuing discourse regarding the safe use on extreme size waves of surfboard ‘leashes’ (a flexible plastic cord which connects, by an ankle belt, surfboards to the ankle of the trailing leg of the surfer when he’s riding his surfboard). Many in the surfing sport believe that Foo’s surfboard leash may have caused or contributed to his death. The leash proponents defend the leash as a useful convenience and as insurance against losing the surfboard, a form of flotation device, in case of a ‘wipe out’, and the leash is a means for the fallen surfer to find his way to the surface air by following the leash cord to the floating surfboard above him on the water surface. Opponents of surfboard leashes in big surf state that a leash can cause the surfrider to collide with his board in a ‘wipe out’, causing head injuries, and the leash can also loop around arms, legs or the surfer’s neck when underwater, and thus dangerously restrict movement to safety or, worse, strangle the surfer with his own leash. Quick-release velcro tear-open-collared leashes have since become standard surfing equipment to address some, but not all, of these dangers. The debates and concerns continue unresolved to this date, and these worthwhile discussions of water safety are, perhaps, the legacy of Foo’s unfortunate demise.^[1]

Still Celebrating Banning Capps

February 3rd, 2013

Banning was a Carlsbad locale who loved to surf and surf he did!  He had a heart as deep as the ocean and made friends easily everywhere he went.  Banning is often happily spoke of in many. many conversations. He holds a huge place in the Hearts and Souls of countless people. Last year Ulises Thomas hosted a wonderful surf contest at Tamarack Beach in his Honor.  People were so excited to gather with one another and continue to CELEBRATE his LIFE.   It was AWESOME !!

Still Celebrating Surfers Worldwide

February 3rd, 2013

Circle-of-Life water Ceremonys are commonly called “paddle outs” and they are a beautiful way to connect to one another, to laugh, to cry and mostly to Celebrate the New Angel.

“The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.” – Wyland

So many soul surfers are Honored by their friends and family, as they paddle out, wearing flower leis around their neck, holding loose flowers, and with the energy to support one another as they all experience their loved one transition to Angelhood.  There are countless Surfer Angels, and I will continue to add them to this blog.

Today, I shout out to  Andy Irons

At the shore of Andy’s cherished home, family, friends, and those whose lives have been touched by the 32-year-old gathered to bid farewell to the surfer, father, brother, son and husband who inspired a generation.

In the embrace of majestic Hanalei, Andy’s younger brother Bruce led close to 1,000 friends in a paddle out beyond the rising waves to encircle a double-hull canoe that carried Andy’s wife Lyndie, his parents and close friends. On shore, thousands more watched on as Andy’s ashes were released into the sea and flowers poured from a helicopter circling above.

At the same time, synchronized tributes were taking place around the world from Australia to Europe, and mainland USA in the greatest outpouring of aloha the surfing world has ever seen. It was a fitting tribute to a young man whose home-grown achievements, passion for life and family, and committed character proved that childhood dreams are worth chasing.

Still Celebrating Sean Collins

February 2nd, 2013

In 1995, Collins founded Surfline.com, a website that features free surf reports from around the country. The Huntington Beach-based company became an essential online destination not only for surfers but for lifeguards, the National Weather Service and even branches of the military, who used it to predict ocean conditions.

He set up the first live “surfcam” in 1996.

Collins, who lived in Seal Beach, was named one of the 25 Most Influential Surfers of the Century by Surfer Magazine in 1999 and the eighth Most Powerful Surfer in the Surf Industry by Surfer Magazine in 2002.

“Life is a wave, which in no two consecutive moments
of its existence is composed of the same particles.”
— John Tyndall

Still Celebrating Kelly De.

February 2nd, 2013

Kelly DeDiminicantanio lives in the Hearts and Souls of all who knew her.  She filled a room with her sweet silliness and her laughter.  My heart warms at the thought of her and how much she was always surrounded with LOVE by her family. She continues to be a gift in my life. (and countless others of course)

The De Family Toasting Kelly at Thanksgiving.  Celebrating Angels together  is a beautiful expression of deep LOVE.

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.  ~Isadora James

Still Celebrating You Lil’ Magic

February 2nd, 2013

“Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way.” ~ John Muir

Still Celebrating Jordon

February 2nd, 2013

“Perhaps one central reason for loving dogs is that they take us away from this obsession with ourselves. When our thoughts start to go in circles, and we seem unable to break away, wondering what horrible event the future holds for us, the dog opens a window into the delight of the moment.” ― Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Dogs Never Lie About Love: Reflections on the Emotional World of Dogs

Still Celebrating You Magic & Sassy

February 1st, 2013

To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die.
-Thomas Campbell