Dan Dafoe and his dog, Maggie. Photo: Facebook/Erica Dafoe
A few days ago, a surfer named Dan Dafoe vanished into the sea at Rodeo Beach just outside of San Francisco. It’s a tragic story: On the evening of the 20th, Dafoe was knocked out while surfing. Dafoe’s friends found him floating unconscious and tried to pull him to the safety of the beach. When they were hit by a large wave, they lost him in the rough seas. He would never be seen alive again.
Dan Dafoe was something of a legend in the area. “He took many of us under his wing and taught us surfers about respect in and out of the water,” said Matt Prandi Borries to Mercury News. “He had a ferocious surf style and the kindest heart. He was one of the core members of Marin’s surf community and was either like a brother or uncle to all of us.”
His devotion to Rodeo Beach made an impact on nearly everyone that set foot there. “There’s nothing like being here when it’s good,” he said in an interview in 2008. “It’s a place you surf for half your life or more with your friends, who are your family. I never think about it now as such a harsh thing, you know, the cold or any of that. It’s just a matter of if the waves are good.”
A 40-year-old contractor who was raised in Hawaii, Dafoe pursued his passions with enthusiasm. When he wasn’t surfing, which he did nearly every day, he sang and played guitar in a punk band called Atomic Machine.
After he disappeared, more than twenty rescue personnel began an exhaustive search of the area. Late Thursday afternoon, however, the search was called off. “The search is concluded,” said the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. “A very thorough 24-hour search did not result in any sign of Dan Dafoe. Our condolences go to his family and friends.”
According to the SF Gate, a body washed ashore in Marin County this morning. A teacher was leading children on Rodeo Beach when they spotted the body. The identity has not been confirmed yet. “We don’t have that expertise,”said Alexandra Picavet, a spokesman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. “The Marin County medical examiner will take over.”
Whatever the outcome, our sincerest condolences go out to the friends and family of Dafoe. If there can be any comfort, it might be take from something he said in 2008 about what he loved to do: “Surfing makes me a better, happier person,” he said. “It’s my quiet time, my release. Life is about living. What better way to live it than be a surfer?”
