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Showing posts with label Cole Ortega. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cole Ortega. Show all posts
Monday, July 06, 2009
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT. NW SWELL 6 FT AT 8 SECONDS...SHIFTING TO THE SW 5 FT AT 16 SECONDS.
It was a year ago today...
That Cole Ortega's arm was severed...
By a prop of a Pacific City dory...
By all accounts Cole is doing well...
Hucking big air in pipes at Bachelor...
The fleet seems far more aware...
Although the surfers are still largely clueless...
I don't mean that in any nasty way...
Other than it seems to be true...
Clearly the locals and able surfers...
Seem to respect the dorys, the ocean & even each other...
But a handful continue to be oblivious...
Not moving out of the way when horns blast...
Dropping in blatantly on waves already taken...
I'm glad Cole's doing good...
It's a miracle in many ways...
Hopefully the lesson won't be utterly lost with time.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
N WIND 15 TO 20 KT WITH GUSTS TO 25 KT THROUGH THE EVENING. WIND WAVES 5 FT. NW SWELL 4 FT AT 7 SECONDS... BUILDING TO 7 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
A 14 year-old surfer, Cole Ortega, was seriously injured after being struck by an incoming dory during heavy, rising surf this past Sunday. The boy's arm was severed by boat's the propeller just above the elbow as it struck and passed over him. Others surfers in the water recovered his arm and assisted him to shore where he was quickly treated and evacuated by emergency and medical teams. Cole's arm was reattached at Portland's Emanuel Hospital and the prognosis is hopeful, but guarded, that he will recover some use of the limb.
Immediate responses have run the gamut; with allegations of dangerous negligence on the part of the dory operator, insinuations that surfers have no business surfing at Cape Kiwanda in the first place and the calls for restricting access to certain use groups.
Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail and something positive will occur as a result of this tragic incident. An aid fund, managed by local surfers and dory men, has been established to assist the Ortega family through this crisis.
If you are interested in making a donation please mail checks to:
The Cole Ortega Recovery Fund
P.O. Box 423
Pacific City, OR 97135
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