RealSurf Surfers' Forum

I got "that" phone call today about 4pm Sydney time informing me that my mate 50yo died in the surf at Sth Narrabeen today. At this stage it looks like a heart attack, no physical injuries obvious. I'm absolutely numb and shattered, I just returned from 5 weeks overseas, not surfing, on friday and was looking forward to a surf with him this week. I cannot believe what his family now must go through. If any of you guys were there, or know someone who was, and lent a hand I can only say thank you from the bottom of my heart as does his family. He went doing what he, and all of us surfers love doing, surfing. He's now in the big green room with Huey, RIP Andrew you will be sorely missed.

Sad news unc. Condolences to you and all his loved ones.

Sad news indeed.

Condolences, uncle

And from here as well. Jesus, 50 years old...

Thanks for the kind words guys Ill pass them on to his family.

RIP... Pass on condolences.

Again, thanks guys. At this stage no reports, like a lot of us he was surfing by himself and things are pretty muddled at the moment. Another mate who's into surf photography has contacted someone within the surf photography community and they believe they actually know the person or someone who was involved in bringing Andrew in, freaking unreal if this comes off! We're keeping our fingers crossed that this,any,information will help his family and friends with closure. Apparently the police and coroners people were appalling and more interested in who's got responsibility than the families need to have a final moment with a loved one.Thanks.

sorry to hear that Uncle. I know a few surfers who have dropped dead of heart attacks whilst surfing and all around that age.

Some morbidly obese salad dodging american had a heart attack on my flight meaning we had to divert to Honolulu . Got into LA an hour after my connecting flight . Shit fight after shit fight people harassing mothers with 3 young kids in queues killing 3 hrs to get a flight 6 hrs later than I should've . 2 hrs sleep in the last 24. At least they have decent IPA on tap. All because some load thought cookie dough was an acceptable snack.

Condolences for your loss. I'm sure your mates heart attack was genetic and not self imposed.

Uncle, I have been in the same situation as your mate, but made it out. Apart from feeling a bit uncomfortable he probably did not know what was going to happen.

Had a phone call this morning to pass this on for those looking for further info can contact…

Narrabeen SLSC

and apparently there is some coverage of the unfortunate incident in both the Manly Daily and the Hornsby Advocate.

Didn't know the person but always sad to hear such news.

wingnut2443 wrote:

unclethirsty wrote:... We're keeping our fingers crossed that this,any,information will help his family and friends with closure ...

Hard to know, but the person who was involved in getting him in / helped him may be:

- impacted in some way (i.e. first death type rescue, feelings of hopelessness for not having "saved" him)

Sorry for your loss, Uncle, and that of the family and friends.

Having been in that sort of situation before, I'd say Wingnut's advice was good. Particularly the bit above.
Very few people are actually resuscitated, the people attempting to revive are often under the impression they've done something wrong when there was nothing they could've done even with full training and all the equipment.

Uncle's friend was spotted from Narrabeen SLSC where the patrol captains were having a meeting. They saw a board without a visible body.

They got the IRB out and retrieved the patient, who was submerged at the time. Commenced CPR and got him to the beach where oxygen and defib were deployed.

Paramedics arrived and took over resusc to no avail.

Uncle, just contact Narrabeen SLSC, as suggested by ric. Sorry to hear the news mate. Going on my own surf that day, Sth Narra must have been pretty thick with few takers.

A few years ago I was walking along Freshwater Beach and another local with the surname Mulquinny called to me to help a guy in the shallows.
He was white, not breathing, not moving, totally gone but we pulled him out of the water, up on the beach and put him in the recovery position.
We cleared his airway, removed his dentures, tried to drain the frothy seawater from his lungs and screamed for the clubbies who raced down with the defibrillator and Oxygen.
To their credit the clubbies were on to the situation instantly, moved like a professional resuscitation team and needed to 'shock' the guy several times before the Ambos arrived who took about an hour to stabilise the guy before transporting him to hospital. I think he went to Royal North Shore where he made a full recovery after being underwater for more than 5 minutes.
Moral to the story is always be there for your fellow surfer, sure he's a Knut for dropping in in you but if you saw him 'face down' you should help him as you would wish he would help you in the same circumstances.
Life tough enough with everyone trying to be the 'tough guy' / bad boy / idiot loser, but at least make the surf an area of compassion for your fellow surfers.
I think Ive personally saved about 8 people in absolute panic in the surf and I hope someone will be there for me if I need it.

Thanks guys, yeah we picked up that report/story in the various papers which has helped a lot. I/we (friends) are just trying to piece together what happened. We are all in shock over this incident, and i would never,ever denigrate the people who tirelessly give their time and put their lives at risk for the sake of others, be it lifesavers, police or ambos, I have nothing but admiration for these people and if i gave the impression otherwise please accept my sincerest apology.
The hard part is at this stage is that we do not know, possibly never will, weather it was an accident or freak medical incident. Andrew was exceptionally fit and an experienced surfer of 30 plus years. Apparently the coroners report will be another 10 days,approx. Thanks again to all who responded. I'll keep you posted.

Uncle, a guy died in the surf off Moffs up here a couple of years ago. He was brought in but had been down too long. At the time it was assumed a heart attack - he was in the age group of your friend, but I never heard a final result.

The only reason I mention it is because, as some of the guys on here know, I recently suffered an attack of vertigo out in the surf. At the time I was off my board and in the drop zone and couldn't stop the world spinning to get to the surface. Only a leg rope which somehow wound itself around my wrist saved me.
I had never experienced vertigo and had no idea what was happening to me.
I was lucky and I'm a bit older than your friend was.

So, someone fit and healthy doesn't have to have a heart attack to die in the surf.

I'll be interested to hear what results you get from the coroner.

$10 buffet for breakfast and dinner . lunch obscene servings of Mexican or for a healthy treat In n Out burger. $2 dollar beers at every meal. 4 temazepans to get at best 5 hrs sleep each night.

I expect to submerged at the end of. my leg rope not too soon after I get home