Lee Tolliver
The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
The focus turned from surfing to saving at the Oceanfront on Friday when a man fell off a boat and drowned.
Just before 8 a.m., a group of junior pro surfers were mid heat at the 47th East Coast Surfing Championships when they heard screams from a fishing boat.
A large swell had knocked a man into the water, and he disappeared beneath the waves. The boat's driver was yelling for help.
The surfers abandoned the competition and paddled over to look for the man, who was later identified as Tong Xiao, a 31-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y.
"I wasn't going to just sit there," said Balaram Stack, a 17-year-old surfer from Long Island, N.Y. "I started swimming down... but I couldn't find him."
Stack was joined by about 50 other surfers, who combed the water for Xiao.
A few minutes later, police divers, fire-rescue boats, Emergency Medical Services and the Coast Guard arrived. After searching for almost two and a half hours, Xiao's body was located beneath 12 feet of water near the North 1st Street jetty where he'd fallen, police said.
He was not wearing a life jacket and appeared to have struck his head on the boat as he fell, said EMS Division Chief Bruce Nedelka.
Shortly before Xiao fell into the water, officials had been ordering the boat's operator to move from the area, which was reserved for the surfing championships.
"I was yelling at him on the microphone to please move out of the surfing area," said Paul West, director of the surfing contest. "I told him he was too close to the jetty and too close to the surfers."
That's when an eight-wave set moved in with overhead swells, West said. A large wave struck the side of the boat, a 21-foot center console, and pushed Xiao overboard.
Police will determine whether to file charges against the boat's operator, who was Xiao's friend, officials said. The incident may have had a different outcome if Xiao had been wearing a life jacket, Nedelka said.
Red flags presided over the beach to warn swimmers of dangerous water Friday. There was a high risk of rip currents in Virginia Beach and northeast North Carolina, according to the National Weather Service.
A rip current may have been responsible for a 12-year-old boy who went missing in Corolla, N.C., on Friday.
His mother saw him fall off his bodyboard at about 10:45 a.m.
The bodyboard later washed ashore without him. The boy has not been located, and the Coast Guard ended its search just before 9 p.m. Friday.
After officials removed Xiao's body from the water, the surfing resumed following a moment of silence.
"This is very sobering," West said. "It reiterates how fragile life is. Here we were stressing about surfing and who's scoring what and who's making it to the next round and this guy loses his life."
Swells ranging from 3 to 5 feet in Virginia Beach boded well for the rest of the surfing contests, West said.
"It's been the best ECSC, maybe ever," he said. "We've been really blessed with some great surf and excellent waves."
Friday ended with the induction of five members to the Surfing Legends of ECSC Hall of Fame: Wes Laine, Bob Holland Jr., Webb Brown, Ron Swan and Kevin Gaydosh.
The ECSC professional men's showcase competition is this morning when competition begins at 7. All finals are Sunday, with times depending on tides and wave conditions.
The highlight of today's events will be the Super Groms at noon. The event features 120 children ages 10 and younger who will be in the water with a relative or assistant to guide their boards toward the beach.
Pilot writers Cindy Clayton and Jeff Hampton contributed to this report.
Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com
Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
The Ocean Might Have Soul but Not a Heart
The ocean is a big dangerous place. Saw the whole event unfold before my eyes and the eyes of hundreds of others. The boat was north of the northern jetty well outside of the navigation channel in an area favored by those looking for spot, croaker, whatever. Their attention was diverted by the event or anchoring, but they never saw the 2 wave set coming around the end of the jetty. Dredging the area where the tragedy occurred will not serve to make anyone a better boater or the inlet a safer place to operate a vessel. The beach at the jetty is a designated surfing area and no vessels should be allowed to operate north and/or shoreward of the jetty's end. Over the last couple of decades, many boaters have faced similar events at the same spot where the most recent event took place. Some lost face, some lost gear, this boater lost a friend and his life. You can give a person a boat, but that will never make someone a sailor. In the ocean you must keep your head on a swivel, respect the power, and stay continually aware of your surroundings.
Just a little note about this morning
I feel really bad for the guy who died in this crazy accident. This should have Never happened! When the boat was off the rocks, I thought to myself, when are the police going to start keeping boats and kayaks out of the surfing area? I've seen so many surfers almost get run over out there this year alone. I hope maybe this will take some notice of the problem us surfers have out in the water most of the time. We get hasseled for having no leashes or staying within certain bounaries just to surf and stay out of trouble. Well maybe we really are not the problem. Maybe it time to start seeing why surfers get so upset when nothing is ever done to keep us safe out in the water. To me, its just a shame! Funny how us surfers are always out there trying to protect our waters and the people who use it. Thanks to everyone who tried to find this guy 20 minutes before other help arrived!
According to WVEC, the
According to WVEC, the boater wasn't wearing a life vest. So, I doubt they will have a case whether the city dredges or doesn't when he didn't take the basic precaution to try and protect himself.
Just like wearing a seatbelt...people do not want to do it, but there are consequences.
The pilot should dabble into
The pilot should dabble into why a boat at the end of the jetties is in danger of capsizing from breaking waves. Because the CITY does not keep the CHANNEL DREDGED. Most local boaters that use this inlet know that it is very dangerous because the city does not keep it dredged properly. I would not be surprised for a minute if the family ends up suing the city for wrongful death. This has been an ongoing problem and has been brought to the attention of city council many times. Local boaters knew it was a matter of time before something bad happened in this area and also know that it will happen again.
Soon you will be hearing about a death at the crab creek channel inside the lynnhaven inlet due to the city not keeping that channel dredged properly.
Couple of points...
To the competitors: OUTSTANDING. You guys are top notch. Competition is important but you put that aside to try to save a life. Thank you.
To the man's family and friends: I am deeply sorry for your loss.
To the Virginian-Pilot: Way to be completely insensitive. You took a story about a tragic loss, a great show of humanity, and turned it into a plug of Virginia Beach and the ECSC. Tacky.
So Sorry, But...
I, too, am sorry for the man's family, but let's face it, this is a case of why won't people ever learn--in boating safety as in all other aspects of safety.
Kudos to the surfers who abandoned their pursuit and risked their lives to try to find this victim.
But remember, folks, you are responsible for the consequences of your actions.
Honorable Mention
Just want to give a nod to all the ECSC surfers--they didn't let the competition get in the way of doing the right thing. I'm so sorry for the man's family, but it was good to hear that so many people jumped in right away to try to save this man's life.