Timmy Patterson is a bonafide luminary in the world of surfboard shaping. Photo: The Inertia
Timmy Patterson is on the road to recovery after a surfing accident landed him in the hospital. On Wednesday, June 10th, the renowned Dana Point shaper was surfing during a sizable south swell when he endured a series of hold downs. Photos just before the incident show Patterson on a larger board (presumably a gun), on the south Orange County Coast.
His son Keone, who was with him and pulled him out of the water, told us Patterson’s heart stopped from lack of oxygen, and once he reached the hospital, he was sedated for about 12 hours so his oxygen intake would improve.
“We were surfing outside Killer Dana and a cleanup set came in and he got caught inside,” Keone said. “After taking a number of sets on the head, he passed out and I had to swim us in. The lifeguards and paramedics resuscitated him on the beach and got his heartbeat back and he’s now walking and cracking jokes and watching the El Salvador contest.”
“(This photo was) taken shortly before the accident that nearly took his life. Forever grateful to his amazing son for saving it,” wrote Heather Fish in an Instagram post. “Breathing tube out, spirits high! Talking, joking and expected to make a full recovery!”
In a town full of world-class shapers (so much so that San Clemente has an entire district dubbed “the surf ghetto”), Patterson still stands out. He started off in-house at the venerable Hobie Surfboards before striking out on his own and building wave-riding craft for some of the world’s best surfers. In recent years, he’s become renowned as world champ Italo Ferreira’s preferred shaper.
T. Patterson Surfboards representative Scott Metzner told The Inertia in an email that Patterson is expected to be back home as soon as tomorrow, and could be shaping again within a week.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated with more information on June 11 at 12:15 p.m. PST.
