Sean O'Neil, suuuper genius!

Sean O'Neil, by all accounts, 'does things Sean's way'.  This is what I love about him!  Not to mention his tenacious, bull dog determination.  He inspires people like Vijay to push the limits of what is possible.  His innovative approach to surfing was amazing to witness and clearly demonstrated there is a long way to go before the R&D is done with adaptive surfing.  

Waveski Madness!

At San Onofre State Beach, just south of San Clemente, there are a couple of guys that have been working with friends with disabilities for about the last 10 years.  These guys are amazing individuals who have been designing adaptive surfboards and waveskis with no other motivation than wanting to share the stoke of the ocean.  Steve Boehne of Infinity surfboards http://infinitysurfboard.com , is one of them.  Steve has been designing and developing adaptive surfboards and waveski out of his own desire to help others experience the ocean.  Steve has his own list of amazing accomplishments in the surfing and shaping world, but I see some his greatest accomplishments as investing the time and energy to help people with disabilities surf independently in the ocean.  He has even built his own beach chair to get guys in and out of the water.  This chair is pretty incredible in that it is simple and made of available materials that can be bought almost anywhere.  

Gene Roberts is a good friend Steve's and has been helping Steve with guys in the water for years.  Gene is semi-retired and extremely committed to helping adaptive surfers.  So I ended up hanging out with Gene a lot.  Great guy with more enthusiasm than a six year old at Disneyland.  Without Gene, the next part of the journey would not have happened.  I need to give Gene huge credit for helping us tirelessly.  Thank you Gene Roberts!   I had originally contacted Steve to come out with 2 friends with SC injuries and learn to waveski.   We ended up showing up at San O when Steve was leaving on vacation.  Originally we had planned on being there about a week earlier.  I was there surfing, waiting, but Vijay and Sean could not make it until the next week.  So I surfed.   One of the best ways to kill time I can think of.  I spent of few days hanging out at 'dog patch' getting to know these guys while I was waiting for Vijay and Sean to show up.  I learned how to waveski and in the process realized this was a huge breakthrough in independent adaptive surfing!  I was sold!   So while I was learning this I also learned stand-up paddle boards, which is super FUN!