If you routinely surf at a place like Pipeline, it is inevitable that you will get hurt. Jamie O’Brien knows that all too well — he’s broken both his legs there and had about a million other bumps and bruises. But it does weigh heavily on him.
“Multiple times, year after year, there’s a close call,” he says. “You have to deal with that every summer. Thinking back, reflecting off of what happened and what could happen and what could possibly be in your future. To me, that’s the most scary thing about living here: you could die here, too.”
