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| Mark Foo | |
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| Personal information | |
| Born | February 5, 1958 Singapore |
| Died | December 23, 1994 (aged 36) Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, USA |
| Surfing specifications | |
| Stance | Regular (natural foot) |
| Favorite waves | North Shore (Oahu) |
Mark Sheldon Foo was a professional surfer who favored big wave surfing. Foo drowned while surfing at Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, in 1994.
Mark Foo was born in Singapore on February 5, 1958, to Colonel Charlie and Lorna Foo, Chinese photojournalists for the U.S. Information Agency. The family relocated to Hawaii when Foo was 10. He spent his early childhood surfing the South Shore of O'ahu, and continued surfing throughout his teenage years. His family moved several times during his adolescence but ultimately returned to Hawaii just before Foo finished high school.[ citation needed ] He studied for two years at the University of Hawaii. [1]
In 1977, Foo joined the IPS World Tour, a professional surfing tour. In the early 1980s, Foo quit the IPS World Tour and stopped competing.[ citation needed ] Foo's passion for surfing big waves led him to surf larger and larger swells. In 1983, he surfed Waimea Bay, a famous big-wave surfing spot on the North Shore of O'ahu, for the first time. [2]
But it was on January 18, 1986, when he ventured out into the bay with waves that onlookers said were in excess of 60 feet, that he rose to fame. [1] When Foo fell off the overhanging ledge, the crashing wave broke his surfboard and tossed him into the water. Foo had to be rescued by a nearby helicopter, yet he emerged from the crash unharmed. He sent the story to various surfing magazines, but failed in the attempt to raise his surfing status to that of a "demigod." [2]
On December 23, 1994, Foo died in a surfing accident at Mavericks, a big-wave surf location in Half Moon Bay, Northern California. [1] Surfer magazine wrote that Foo was sleep-deprived after arriving in California on an overnight flight for the swell. During takeoff on a wave estimated at 18–20 feet (Hawaiian scale), Foo experienced a seemingly innocuous wipeout and drowned. The fateful wipeout was photographed from at least two angles, and shows him falling forward near the bottom of the wave.
The most popular presumption is that Foo's surf leash had become entangled on the rocks, with the rushing currents of a second wave passing overhead preventing him from disengaging his ankle strap and getting to the surface. This theory was further validated when professional surfer Mike Parsons, who wiped out on the following wave, said that he came into contact with something, possibly Foo, as he was tumbled around underwater.[ citation needed ] Foo's body was discovered still tied to the broken tail section of his board [1] inside Pillar Point lagoon over two hours later.[ citation needed ] The coroner's report cited "salt-water drowning" and "blunt head trauma" as his causes of death. [1]
Foo's death shook the big-wave surfing community. On December 30, over 700 people arrived at Waimea Bay for his funeral. Approximately 150 surfers paddled into and formed a large circle. One of the participants, who was carrying a container with Foo's ashes, paddled into the center of the circle and placed the ashes into the ocean. A segment of the film Riding Giants documented Foo's death at Mavericks.
Foo founded a hostel, Backpackers Hawaii, in Pupukea. [3] The hostel's website maintains an online memorial for him. [4]
Foo helped elevate the popularity of the sport, with his talent, courage, and enthusiasm, and was recognized as one of the greatest big-wave surfers of all time. Mark was a favorite subject of photographers, and he had his own cable television surfing program. "If you want to ride the ultimate wave, you have to be willing to pay the ultimate price" was Foo's philosophy.
In the realm of big-wave surfing, Foo's death brought about a continuing discourse regarding the safe use of surfboard leashes, or flexible cords that connect the surfboard to a belt on the surfers ankle. Proponents defend the leash as a useful convenience and insurance against losing the surfboard, which serves as flotation device in the case of a "wipe out." They also assert that the leash is a means for a fallen surfer to find his way to surface air by following the leash cord to the floating surfboard on the water's surface.
There are also surfers who believe that Foo's surfboard leash may have caused or contributed to his death. Opponents of leashes in big surf assert that a leash can cause the surfer to collide with the board in a wipe out, potentially causing head injuries, and that the leash can also loop around the arms, legs, or neck, dangerously restricting escape to safety or strangling the surfer. Quick-release Velcro leashes have since become standard surfing equipment to address some of these dangers. The debates continue to this day. [5]
American rock band Seventeen (later known as Lustra) performed a musical tribute (misspelled as "Mark Fu") on their 2000 LP Bikini Pie Fight!.
The epic battle between Foo and Ken Bradshaw in the 1980s is chronicled in Stealing the Wave by Andy Martin (Bloomsbury Publishing).
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer, uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores, but can also be found in standing waves in the open ocean, in lakes, in rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or in wave pools.
Waimea Bay is located in Haleiwa on the North Shore of O'ahu in the Hawaiian Islands at the mouth of the Waimea River. Waimea Valley extends to the east of Waimea Bay. Waimea means "reddish water" in Hawaiian.
Mark Richards, known as MR, is an Australian surfer who became a four-time world champion (1979–1982).
Mavericks is a surfing location in northern California outside Pillar Point Harbor, just north of the town of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-by-the-Sea. After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely crest at over 25 ft (8 m) and top out at over 60 ft (18 m). Routinely, waves that break can be recorded on seismometers. The break is caused by an unusually shaped underwater rock formation.
Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into, or are towed into, waves which are at least 20 feet high, on surf boards known as "guns" or towboards. Sizes of the board needed to successfully surf these waves vary by the size of the wave as well as the technique the surfer uses to reach the wave. A larger, longer board allows a rider to paddle fast enough to catch the wave and has the advantage of being more stable, but it also limits maneuverability and surfing speed.
Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau was a Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer. As the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay on the island of Oahu, he saved over 500 people and became famous for surfing the big Hawaiian surf, winning several awards including the 1977 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship. The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational is named in his honor. He was also a crew member on the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa.
Greg Noll was an American pioneer of big wave surfing and a prominent longboard shaper. Nicknamed "Da Bull" by Phil Edwards in reference to his physique and way of charging down the face of a wave, he was on the U.S. lifeguard team that introduced Malibu boards to Australia around the time of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He produced a "legendary" series of five Search for Surf films.
Patrick Shane Dorian, or "Shane", is an American surfer from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He spent 11 years touring on the World Championship Tour as a professional surfer. Dorian quit competition surfing in 2003 to focus on big waves. He is currently a big wave surfer and one of the best in the world at big wave riding.
Jeff Clark is one of the most noteworthy big-wave surfers, famous for surfing Mavericks alone for 15 years before it was widely discovered by the big-wave surfing community.
Darryl "Flea" Virostko is a professional "big wave" surfer from Santa Cruz, California. He graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1991. He is a three-time Mavericks competition winner. Virostko appears as himself in the surfing films Riding Giants, Step Into Liquid, and Billabong Odyssey. Surfer declared his 2004 wipeout on a 50-foot wave at Waimea Bay, Hawaii, the "Wipeout of the Decade".
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The Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship is named in honor of the "Father of Modern Surfing", Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku. The contest began in 1965 by invitation only at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of Oʻahu until it was replaced by the Billabong Pro in 1985. The championship was the first surfing event to be broadcast on a regular basis by ABC's Wide World of Sports.
Ride the Wild Surf is a 1964 American romantic drama film. It was filmed in 1963 and distributed in 1964. Unlike the beach party movies of the era, this was a departure from the typical Hollywood approach to surfing as it was a drama, not a comedy. It is known for its exceptional big wave surf footage – a common sight in surf movies of the time, but a rarity in Hollywood films. Likewise, the film has only one pop song – the titular Jan and Dean track, which is heard once, at the end of the film.
Greg Long is an American surfer from San Clemente, California. He has won the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational, in memory of Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay, the Red Bull Titans of Mavericks event held at Mavericks in Northern California, and the Red Bull Big Wave Africa event held at Dungeons in Hout Bay, South Africa. Additionally, he is the most decorated surfer in the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. He is widely regarded as one of the best big wave surfers in the world.
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Surfing in the United States is a popular hobby in coastal areas, and more recently due to the invention of wave pools, inland regions of the country. It contributes to a lifestyle and culture in which millions participate and which millions more have an interest. USA surfing is the governing body for the sport of surfing in the United States, with surf leagues such as the World Surf League available in the country. Surfing can be traced back to 17th Century Hawaii and has evolved over time into the professional sport it is today, with surfing being included for the first time in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
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