Orange County Register
Surfers are mourning the death of a longtime bodysurfer who died after a neck injury he sustained while surfing waves near Huntington Beach Pier last week.
Andrew Arnold – known for playing his trumpet on the north side parking lot – was pulled out from the water Nov. 4 and was unconscious when lifeguards arrived. He was taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, where he was pronounced dead on Sunday after his organs were harvested, according to longtime friend Daren Jenner.
Jenner said low tide that afternoon could have caused shallow water, and it is believed that Arnold hit his head on a sand bar when he was “flipping out” of a wave.
Jenner and Arnold, who grew up in Huntington Beach, had just days before spent time bodysurfing the Wedge, Seal Beach, and Arnold’s regular spot, the Huntington Beach Pier.
Jenner, who met Arnold when he was 4, described him as the kind of guy to give you his last dollar.
“He was a gentle giant, a musician, and a lover of life, his family, and his friends,” Jenner wrote in an e-mail. “He cherished the ocean and water; they were his refuge. He always respected ‘Mother Ocean,’ and he was a talented bodysurfer, he rode those big pier bowls with courage and style, using only a small hand board for steering.”
Acting Marine Safety Chief Mike Baumgartner said that Arnold was a regular bodysurfer in the area.
“He is someone who frequents the area all the time; he’s very competent,” Baumgartner said.
Off-duty lifeguards responded to Arnold, Baumgartner said.
Baumgartner said lifeguards respond to about 20 – 25 cervical injuries a year, and that an uneven ocean floor can be dangerous even for the most experienced ocean-user.
“You always have to keep your arms out in front of your head if you’re anywhere near the ocean floor,” he said.
Friend Ryan Turner said Arnold was someone who charged the biggest waves, and the day they found him the conditions were “puny.”
Arnold sold Turner’s family insurance. He took over the Farmer’s Insurance business in Huntington Beach on Main Street from his mother, Eileen, after she died.
“He was a great guy; the easiest guy to talk to,” Turner said.
Surfer Mark Weiss remembers seeing Arnold often in the parking lot before surf sessions.
“He’d just be playing his horn; it was awesome,” he said. “He always had a good vibe. He was a fixture down there, we lost a good guy.”
Jenner is in Phuket, Thailand, volunteering as a lifeguard, where they plan to have a “swim out” for Arnold. Plans for a Huntington memorial are also in the works, though a time and date have not been decided.
Laylan Connelly
The Orange County Register
OrangeCounty.com
lconnelly@ocregister.com
