Shawn Dollar, a Santa Cruz big-wave surfer who holds the for largest paddle-in wave, was injured on Monday in a surfing accident, . The 34-year-old hit his head on a rock while surfing in Big Sur, breaking his neck in four places and sustaining a concussion.
鈥淚鈥檓 in聽stable condition and going to be okay. I expect a full recovery,鈥 . 鈥淓very day is a gift. Tell the people around you how much you love them because it鈥檚 all that matters.鈥
Greg Tomlinson, president and co-founder聽of聽VonZipper, the eyewear company that聽sponsors Dollar,聽told 国产吃瓜黑料 that everyone at聽the company was stunned and concerned to hear about聽Dollar鈥檚 accident.
鈥淎lthough it may be a minute before he gets back in the water, there is no doubt that with the love of his family, his relentless optimism, the well wishes of his friends, and the surfing community at large, he鈥檒l be getting back after it in no time,鈥澛爏aid Tomlinson.
The Santa Cruz聽Sentinel reported a Surfline.com forecast on Monday of wave heights between four and six feet across the Central Coast. However,聽Elfin Saffer, the marketing promotions manager for O鈥橬eill Surf Shop in Santa Cruz, said the waves were peaking at 25 feet at Dollar鈥檚 location. The spot, which Saffer聽calls a local secret, is incredibly rocky, has difficult access, and is far from shore. It鈥檚 only due to聽the assistance of the surfers with Dollar on the day of the accident that the surfer survived his injuries, said Saffer.
鈥淪hawn is not the kind of guy that surfs anywhere mellow,鈥 Saffer, who has firsthand experience with the wave, told 国产吃瓜黑料 on Wednesday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a true miracle he survived.鈥澛
Dollar paddled into a 61-foot-high wave聽at Cortes Bank, 100 miles off the coast of San Diego, on December 12, 2012. Watch his record-breaking wave here:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FITBgDNo5QY%3Frelated%3D1%26autoplay%3Dfalse