Industry News
Surf
San Rafael surfer Dan Dafoe, 40, has been missing since Wednesday afternoon. He was surfing at Fort Cronkhite, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in California when he went missing.
This is very heavy news as we currently have a skier and surfer missing in northern California.
It was low tide, with 10-foot waves in the water when Dafoe went missing. Surfline.com reports that Dafoe has been surfing Fort Cronkhite since the early 90s.
It’s currently unknown what happened to Dafoe but two surfers reportedly found Dafoe face down in the water at the north end of the beach and attempted to revive him. They were separated from Dafoe when a huge set of waves came down on them all. They were unable to located Dafoe again.
Dafoe was last seen near the cave at the north end of the beach according to Marin County Fire Department Battalion Chief Bret McTigue.
Marin County fire crews, the Coast Guard, and the National Park Service all searched for Dafoe from 5pm-7pm Wednesday evening. As of Thursday morning, they were still searching.
According to Southern Marin Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Matt Barnes, the operation is now considered a recovery mission.
Dafoe had this to say in 2008 about the place where he disappeared 8 years later:
“There’s nothing like being here when it’s good. 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 … the good days you get and everything that happens on the good days, your friends getting rides and memorable moments. This place has a lot of them for me.”
“Surfing makes me a better, happier person. It’s my quiet time, my release. Life is about living. What better way to live it than be a surfer?”
– Dan Dafoe told the Marin Independent Journal
2 days ago, a search was called off for two college students who were swept out to sea by a large wave in Santa Cruz, CA. The California coast has been experience large waves most of this El Nino winter.
Dafoe was big in the music scene as well in the Bay Area with his band The Atomic Machines.
Our condolences to all Dan’s family and friends. He will be missed.
This breaks my heart. Danny and I go way back and we had lots of waves together.
I remember meeting his family at Gilman when he was playing with Who’s Driving.
My sympathies go out to his wife and family, and may he now rest in eternal peace.
In Sorrow for our loss,
DAN