Apparently, they don’t see surfin’ all that much in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Shannon Thomas was havin’ himself a hell of a time on the river this week, catchin’ a few tasty waves with the stream spilling over its banks at 20,000 CFS, according to his Instagram page. But like we said, they haven’t seen surfin’ all that much in downtown Dayton. Someone thought Thomas and his friends were drownin’, instead of having the time of their lives, and called 911 to send in the cavalry.
That’s when two ambulances, a couple of fire trucks, police, and park rangers armed with a rescue raft showed up to save no one in particular. “(The) fire chief was not happy with me and lectured me on safety as he walked across the street while I waited for the ‘walk’ sign and he almost gets hit by a car,” wrote Thomas. “Note that I had a PFD, helmet, leash, 4/3 wetsuit, and a surf partner. They all looked pretty pissed while I had the biggest smile on my face imaginable.”
There is actually a whitewater park with surf waves in Dayton–we think this might be it, only it’s covered by floodwaters in the video–so you’d think locals would be used to paddlers and surfers by now. Apparently, that’s not the case.
