Surf Cowards

[Kunji]

Mark Morlock was stabbed in the eye after an altercation in the surf at Snapper Rocks. Pic: Luke Marsden.

A MAN faces losing an eye after a surfboard was deliberately speared into his face in a horrific surf rage attack on the Gold Coast.
The victim, Mark Morlock, said it was the ‘most brutal and cowardly thing I’ve seen’ and ‘pure evil’.
Doctors will tomorrow determine if his right eye can be saved.

Mr Morlock, 41, a professional abalone diver and ship’s captain, was surfing popular Gold Coast break Snapper Rocks on Tuesday when the incident happened.

He said a fellow surfer who he unwittingly cut off on a wave at the same break about five months ago confronted him.

“I heard a voice behind me go ‘hey you’ and I’ve turned around and he goes ‘you remember me?’,” Mr Morlock said.

“I said ‘yeah I remember you, what do you want?’. Then he let his board go from between his legs, straight into my face. He said ‘you’re not laughing now, are you mate?’

“Within six seconds of him announcing his presence, he’d done this horrible trick that only a surfer knows but one I thought would never happen to me. It was the most brutal, cowardly thing I’ve ever seen.”

In agony and shock and unable to see, Mr Morlock made it to shore where he was given first-aid by a lifeguard.

Even as he was waiting to be taken to hospital, his attacker wanted to fight him.

“He was hiding in some bushes and came bolting down the stairs wanting to carry it on, with my eye almost hanging out of my head,” he said.

“I said ‘are you out of your mind? I can’t even see you to fight you’,” Mr Morlock said.

He was taken to Tweed Heads Hospital and later transferred to Gold Coast University Hospital where he underwent about 12 hours of microsurgery in a bid to save his eye.

“The doctors told me that if he wasn’t riding a snub-nosed board, it could have been fatal,” he said.

Mr Morlock will find out tomorrow if he loses his sight in the damaged eye.

“It may cost me my livelihood,” he said.

He has not spoken to police but a horrified witness is believed to have reported the incident.

“It’s one of the heaviest things I’ve seen,” one witness told the Sunday Mail.

Snapper Rocks, home of the Quiksilver Pro world surfing championship contest, is one of the world’s most crowded surf breaks and surf rage is rife.

But clashes between surfers usually involve heated exchanges or fisticuffs, with surfboards rarely used as weapons.

“What kind of person carries a grudge like that for five months and then does something as horrible as this to another human being?” Mr Morlock said.

“It’s pure evil.”

Surfers said the attacker was a notorious troublemaker and needed to be stopped before someone was killed.

“The guy’s an aggro serial offender,” one local said.

“There are women and kids who surf out there who don’t need to be exposed to this sort of danger.”

[daryl]

Hope he gets jail.

[Beanpole]

Presumably if he knows who the guy is he will get done for it. Dumbest thing is coming after him again after the act. There goes any "accidental" excuses.

Either that or he hooks up with some abalone fishing mates and feeds him to the abalones.

[haysie]

What a stain on the earth that man is. I hope they name and shame him.

[el rancho]

let that be a lesson

stay away from the super bank. it's scary. tell your friends.

[steve shearer]

Hang on, he hasn't spoken to police?

and the guy hasn't been charged?

something smells like a Courier Mail beat-up to me.

[Yuke Hunt]

I've heard talk of a clown down there confronting a few people in and out of the surf. Sounds like a wacko from what I've heard. So the story may be factual.

Our sea captain friend may not have had a chance to put in an official complaint ... with the surgery taking priority. Can't see the incident ruining his career though ... many a pirate sailed the seven seas with one eye.

[steve shearer]

he had time for an interview and photo session with the press but not to call the cops?

and there must have been hundreds of witnesses.

I don't doubt the incident occurred......

[Jorgo]

Its been on ABC radio morning programm this week- first few days. They did interview Mr Morelock and he did say he wasnt going to take it further. A lot of talk back chat about if it was good bad or indifferent - or just par for the course out there. I think they interviewed an ex Snapper Rocks Boardriders Pres for his comments. His comments and most were that it was wrong and sickening and that its a sign of the times (read respect or lack of) sadly.
Dont think its a beat up but dont know the full story myself. There was some thought that out of fear he wasnt gonna call in the cops.

[Battery]

"Unwittingly cut off on a wave" makes dropping in sound very civil...

[daryl]

Letting go a board from between your legs, might's well have pulled a trigger.

[Hollowed out]

Coops posted this but gone quiet so he must know the guy who took the pic or someone related to this thread must know who this cretin is. Why not at least describe him and what he rides and if he is a local if too worried to name him. For no other reason than to help other avoid a similar fate because maybe just looking at him will trigger his twisted little brain.

[Davros]

Charge him and or hope he gets cancer of the eyes.

[el rancho]

according to the book of faces it's now a police matter

[Animal_Chin]

There was some thought that out of fear he wasnt gonna call in the cops.

Sounds cowardly.

Edit: just joking ffs

[andy2476]

There was some thought that out of fear he wasnt gonna call in the cops.

Sounds cowardly.

Edit: just joking ffs

now that's gutless

[daryl]

“Within six seconds of him announcing his presence, he’d done this horrible trick that only a surfer knows but one I thought would never happen to me. It was the most brutal, cowardly thing I’ve ever seen.”

Is this really a thing surfers do? I've never heard of it.

I've been really annoyed a few times by blatant drop ins on my wave of the day, but to hold on to that anger for half a year is incredible. Maybe he'd been out there every day looking for him ever since. I just can't believe they remembered each other. Ughhh.

The wording's wrong (unless you're completely evil), he means the slingshot effect of letting your board go, everyone knows that it happens when you're learning, slippery board gets away from underneath if you're not holding on.

[Nick Carroll]

Fcuk, guys used to do that a lot. Seldom with such shattering effect.

I don't get it, the person is obviously well known and recognisable, old mate here really should be getting the police on the case. Anyone who thinks a six month old drop-in requires this sort of action has a personality disorder.