I just heard the shocking news posted on Sea Kayaker Magazine’s Facebook page that Tsunami Ranger founder, Eric Soares has died:
This morning we got the sad news from Michael Powers that Eric Soares passed away yesterday following a skiing accident atLake Tahoe. Eric was well known around the world for the extreme coastal kayaking he did with the Tsunami Rangers and for his many contributions to the kayaking community. He wrote several articles for Sea Kayaker on surf, safety and teamwork. In his most recent article for us, “A Change of Heart” (SK August 2008), Eric wrote of surviving an aortic dissection and the changes that brought to his life. While his physical heart was flawed, his true heart was not. Eric had extraordinary and infectious energy. He never took himself too seriously and you couldn’t help but follow suit when in his presence. We will miss him. Our deep condolences go out to his wife Nancy, his family and his Tsunami Rangers brothers and sisters.
I can’t state how huge of a loss this is to the kayaking community. Eric along with Michael Powers started the Tsunami Rangers back in the mid-80’s and pretty much single handily invented rough water sea kayaking. Long before I had the skills to get out in rough water myself, I loved reading his book, Extreme Sea Kayaking.
Eric also was a regular contributor to the paddling blog world via the tsunamirangers.com website. His articles covered a wide range of topics that were always well written and drawn from his extensive experience. I’m going to miss his regular updates...
Sad day indeed...
Update #1: John Lull posted a comment over on Eric's last blog post about what happened. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Update #2: Moulton Avery emailed me with the following update:
He must have fallen and damaged his aorta. He was skiing at Tahoe and emailed me from Stanford Hospital saying he was scheduled for another aorta operation next week. He said: "c'est la vie. I'm upbeat".
I was worried, but he was such a dear and wonderful man and possessed such a vibrant force of life that I convinced myself he'd weather this storm, just as he did the many that came before it. An indescribable loss. Mates are paying their respects on his site.
Eric was a giant among men, larger than life, he leaves a great void. I know exactly what you mean about his exploits and the pix. He would want us to remember him with a smile on our faces, but that's gonna take some time.
Photo Credit: tsunamirangers.com
