While the sport of surfing welcomes everyone who seeks solace in the oceanic waves, it also calls for safety to ensure the well-being of the surfers. Failing to comply with safety norms sometimes costs life-threatening injuries. However, avoidance of those safety guidelines can end up hurting the person and fellow surfers. Likewise, an Australian surfer ended up injured due to the incautious behavior of a passerby wave chaser.
On Wednesday, 8th February, a 49-year-old Australian surfer, Matthew Cassidy, was surfing at Wategos beach in Byron Bay. While paddling through the waves, Cassidy was hit by a loose legrope of a longboard surfer. The unfastened fin whipped the left arm of the surfer, and he got lacerated badly. However, Cassidy had nothing but kind words for the fellow surfer.
Matthew Cassidy addressed the incautious surfer kindly
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As per the report of Dailymail, after Cassidy got hit by the fin of the rogue board, he looked at his arm and saw “half his bicep hanging out”. As soon as he reached the safety of the shore, he requested the bystander to tie the legrope around his bicep to stop the bleeding. Despite suffering from a severe contusion, the Australian reached out to the woman who was responsible for his wound in utter kindness.
Addressing the girl, Cassidy stated, “I hold you no bad will”. The 49-year-old added, “I saw your face on the beach, and I have no doubt you have learned a lesson”. Nevertheless, the Australian also said that the owner of the rogue board had his “total forgiveness and compassion”.
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Cassidy then urged the woman to practice “safe surf etiquette”. Not just that, the surfer also requested the surfing community to follow the safety protocols while paddling into the ocean.
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Surfer urged paddlers to follow surfing guidelines
Following his treatment at Gold Coast hospital, the surfer hopes to get his arm functional again. Moreover, he pleaded with the surfers to mandate the use of legropes while surfing on the longboards. Cassidy mentioned that there is still “a massive issue” in Byron Bay with beachgoers not using the safety ropes.
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The surfer conceded, “Let’s all enter and exit the surf safely, we all love the same sport, let’s act like a community, not individuals”. Though Matthew Cassidy was injured brutally, his outlook on the situation is quite optimistic, don’t you think?
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