Surf Tragedy: Links to articles about Peter Davi

[JonS]

Ghost Tree now joins Maverick's on the list of "killer" NorCal surf breaks...

New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/08/sports/othersports/08davi.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin)

Surfer Magazine (http://surfermag.com/features/onlineexclusives/peter-davi-ghost-tree/)

San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/05/BAABTOFIF.DTL&tsp=1)

Surfline (http://www.surfline.com/surfnews/article.cfm?id=12639)

KCBS (http://www.kcbs.com/Surfers-Remember-Famed-Big-Wave-Rider-Peter-Davi/1290981)

[Bonzer]

What a shame. I feel bad for his son. :(

[shamgod]

It's sad, but he went out like a gladiator. Of all the people that have ever lived and died, only a few had the skill and balls to paddle out at Ghost Tree. He didn't do it for fame or money, he did it for love.

[JonS]

Ghost Tree was so crazy. I can't believe somebody would try to paddle into a wave like that breaking so close to shore...

Pictured surfer: Chuck Patterson
http://rinconsurfpics.com/images/mt2h3878.jpg

[JonS]

http://www.surfingthemag.com/peter-jake-davi-120407.jpg

Peter Davi and his son Jake.

Excerpts from Peter's Obituaries (http://groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries/browse_thread/thread/074f29aa17d04f03/13a06e13ae831e99?#)


On Dec 5, 7:28 pm, Bob Feigel <b...@surfwriter.net.not> wrote:
I'll try that again.

<snip>

Even in massive surf conditions an experienced surfer would normally be able to make his way back into shore by diving beneath breaking waves (I've done it many times, albeit not in 60-70 foot conditions).

His big mistake, IMO, was to turn down the offers of a ride in or a PFD (personal flotation device) from the tow teams.

It could be that he was hit by another surfboard - or possibly by his own board. Or he could have miscalculated a breaking wave on the way in or even tried to bodysurf one. Or he might have become disoriented while underwater (it's happened to me) and swam down or sideways instead of up and ran out of breath.

In any event, requiescat in pace, water brother.

I was at Ghost Trees the day Pete died. I watched him get pounded on the corner rock before losing his board and washing around Pescadero Point. In shock, and suffering from blunt force trauma to the head and chest, he waved off would-be rescuers on jetskis in an attempt to swim to shore. He never made it. Ghost Trees is one of the most powerful and dangerous waves in the world. You have to be slung into them by a jet ski, and ride these mountains of water across a rock shelf. As the wave peels around the corner of Pescadero Point, it bowls at the very end (it's a right). If a surfer takes a low line on the wrong wave, it pitches out mid-face; a smaller, barreling section coming out of the face of the wave. Pete was dumped by this boil about eight vertical feet onto the exposed rock. That's when he lost his board, and sustained mortal injuries.

I grew up surfing on the Monterey Peninsula and had the chance to surf with Pete Davi, and his son Jake, on a number of occasions. I was not in the water the day he died; I know my limits, and fear is the enemy when confronting herculean tasks. I watched from the hillside overlooking the point. I think that the comment about the Darwin awards is unfair in this situation. I can't say that Pete Davi was my friend. I surfed with him here and there, when he wasn't chasing giants all over the world. In his prime, he was a world-class athlete, and a legend in the sport. He was truly fearless, and paid the price on December 4th, in Pebble Beach. But it is his courage--he paddled out on a 40+ foot day at the most dangerous big-wave spots anywhere-- that challenges the limits of physical strength, stamina, skill and endurance as well as the imagination of the world. I do not shed tears for Peter Davi; he died doing what he loved...we should all be so lucky. My heart does go out to Jake, who lost his father and surfing buddy that day; 18 years-old is too young to lose your father. So before you condemn one of the greatest big wave riders in the world for an act of "stupidity", please consider what the world would be like without people like Peter Davi to live out our wildest fantasies and face down our most primal fears. He was a big, wild, rambunctious, courageous man, and the world is at a loss for his passing.

Rest in Peace, Pete


Story and Pics from Peter's memorial service (http://www.surfline.com/surfnews/article_bamp.cfm?id=12693)

[CarlW]

Thankyou for the story,I was there that day on the cliff,I was not sure what the Helocopter was up to,I thought it was taking pictures for the news on big surf,I feel for his son.

[Bonzer]

He was a buff guy!! I wonder if had gotten medical treatment right away instead of waving off the rescuers would he have survived?

[JonS]

Update: Drowned Surfer Was on Methamphetamine

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office announced Friday that a surfer who drowned off of Pebble Beach in December was on methamphetamine at the time of his death.

Peter Davi, 45, died Dec. 4 while surfing off of Stillwater Cove. The Monterey County coroner listed the cause of death as asphyxia due to drowning.

"Blunt force injuries to the top of the head and front of the chest likely contributed to death. Acute methamphetamine intoxication may also have played a contributing role. Toxicology tests revealed that Mr. Davi presented acute methamphetamine intoxication,'' according to the sheriff's office announcement.

The blunt force injuries were consistent with Davi being thrown against the rocks in the cove by the heavy surf that day, according to the sheriff's office.

[shamgod]

Update: Drowned Surfer Was on Methamphetamine

Mr. Davi presented acute methamphetamine intoxication,'' according to the sheriff's office announcement.



I hate to say it, but this does change the man's legacy to a more "sobering" cautionary tale.

It's well documented that methamphetamine reduces inhibition and clouds judgment, two things that require careful modulation when surfing places like Ghost Tree.

I've never surfed anything like Ghost Tree but have been in out on some heavy days at places like Puerto Escodido, Frigate Pass and Kuta Reef. I'm also a Former LA Firefighter and experienced some heavy stuff there too including an incident that disabled me off the job. And if there's one thing I know, it's that if you're going to walk the razor's edge you'd better have your wits about you--it's your instincts that will save your ass when the world is coming down around you and those instincts are the product of millions of years of evolution, NOT a 20 minute Meth session.