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MAN OVERBOARD
Chris Ward lives to tell about his wild ride with the Coast Guard
By:
Mike Cianciulli
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February 22, 2010
62900 visits
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Some say Chris Ward is the most interesting man in surfing.
Well, his latest adventure just might cement that reputation. During the Valentine's weekend swell, Ward, his girlfriend Ashley Rogers and Dave Langer took Wardo's boat out to a notorious Central California slab for some deepwater action.
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WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO THIS WINTER, BESIDES DODGING ROGUE CENTRAL COAST WAVES? I've been on the North Shore surfing the good El Nino year over there. There were a couple big days at the Bay, Sunset, and Pipe. Also, a couple treacherous days at Haleiwa. That gave me confidence for this Central Coast slab and prepared me for the wipeout on the boat. I've never wiped out on a wave riding a 47-foot Coast Guard boat before. [Laughs.] DESCRIBE THAT DAY UP IN MORRO BAY. It was super windy. The wind was howling and the ocean was alive. It was a really vibrant day and full of energy -- big swell, lots of wind and waves, cold water, cold air. It was freezing. I would've never made it out to the wave if I didn't get on my boat and get out there. I wasn't expecting it to overheat and it was running fine on the way out. But on the way in, things seemed to be running a little differently. DID YOU END UP GETTING SOME GOOD WAVES BEFORE THE SHIT HIT THE FAN? Yeah. We got out there for two or three hours and were stoked -- hooting back and forth between barrels. I saw Christian Enns getting big barrels. I got some big ones too. There was this one that I didn't make it out of and I ended up bodysurfing almost over the rock. [His phone dies. I call him back] Sorry about that. My phone dies a lot. NO WORRIES. SO IT WAS YOUR OWN BOAT YOU WERE DRIVING, CORRECT? Yeah. It just conked out on us. Maybe because the engine was working hard to get over the swells? On the way out, it was fine. On the way back, it wasn't. So I went outside the harbor enough to where I could buy us enough time to be rescued so we wouldn't crash against the rocks. That ended up being the best decision I ever made. WHAT WAS THE VIBE LIKE WITH THE COAST GUARD? We got on their boat and they were securing everything down. All their procedures seemed right. The boat was really strong and sturdy. I felt safe on it. And they started towing my boat and they called us up on the top deck with the captain. The captain kinda started riding waves with the Coast Guard boat. We were like, "Is this what you're supposed to be doing?" He could've waited for the set to be done but, instead, he started riding waves. He told us, "By the way, if this boat flips, hang on because we're strapped in and we'll come rescue you." That was the last thing I heard him say. "Being saved and then being saved from the people that were saving us is pretty wild."
-- Chris Ward
Next thing I know I'm underwater. We got flushed deep underwater and I held on to [my girlfriend] Ashley so she didn't get thrown around or carried off. It brought us back up to the surface and that's when I noticed that we were still alive and went into rescue mode. Right away, I saw the jetski guys [Don Curry and Ed Guzman] coming in from surfing and they picked us on the ski and we went in. It wasn't just water coming over the bow [of the Coast Guard boat], it was the whole boat flipping over. It was a front summersault, full cartwheel. I didn't think those things took those. Being saved and then being saved from the people that were saving us is pretty wild. [Ward's phone dies again. When I call back, his girlfriend answers.] HI, I WAS TALKING WITH CHRIS ABOUT YOUR ADVENTURE. HOW'D YOU HANDLE IT? [Ashley Rogers:] Well, everything was in really slow motion. They told us the boat could go down and I asked Chris to hold onto me because I'm not a great swimmer. When it went down, he just held onto me so tight and he pushed me towards the jetski. There was no way that we were going to get on the Coast Guard boat. We swam over there really fast. I couldn't even get on the jetski. Chris threw me up on it and we raced out of there. We thought we were going to get wiped out again. I don't know if I could have handled another 30-foot wave. I felt so safe with Chris though. It was kinda cool but I don't want to experience it again. It was a great adrenaline rush once we were back on land. That's the craziest thing that happened to me in the ocean, for sure. Here's Chris... SO WARDO, ANY OTHER HIGH SEAS BOATING ADVENTURES PLANNED FOR THE REST OF WINTER? Everyone was writing me off for being out there. But that's what we live for -- to surf and charge waves like that. People thought we were out there for a joy ride. HOW'S YOUR BOAT? My boat runs. It never got wet. I'm lucky. I'm going to trade it for a jetski. If anyone wants to trade a boat for a jetski, let me know. ARE THERE ANY UPDATES YOU CAN SHARE ABOUT YOUR LEGAL SITUATION? At this point...no. My legal situation is getting handled and I'm ready to move forward with my life. NOW THAT YOU'RE OFF TOUR, WHAT ARE YOU PLANS FOR 2010? This year, I'm going to be traveling and getting footage for a movie that's coming out. I'm also going to do all the six-star primes and really focus on giving it one good shot to get back on tour. I think I deserve to be there. I had a bad year last year and I want to give myself one good go before I shine it. I want to chase down swells but I also want to still compete for the next few years. But I do want to freesurf eventually and show the world my freesurfing skills. I'm going to make my mind up as I go. MORE SURF NEWS SURFLINE HOME PAGE |