High Five the Wave Day Two

High Five the Wave Day Two

The second day in the High Fives Foundation adaptive surf camp at San Clemente, CA was an adventure from the onset. After an amazing team meal the night prior at Hapa Js, the cast of characters were rested and ready to rip into the rights and lefts of an all time swell at Dog Park in the San Onofre State Beach. Early mornings escape in a hurry when you end up with more loaned wave skis and surfboards than vehicles equipped to transport them. After a quick strategy meeting proved fruitful, we found ourselves in the water and loving life with only a minor delay.

The punishment of flipping over in a heavy set while on a wave ski or stand up paddle board is forgotten by the sheer joy of riding a long wave in while working on muscle memory transferable to winter sports. Landon McGauley and Danny Toumarkine have been making the most of this experience and their smiles are proof positive.

Landons fifth time with the High Fives Foundation marks chapter Five in the Landon McGauley Project. This go around, the 17 year old from Quesnel, British Columbia once again demonstrated an unfathomable appetite to learn and move towards a new skill set. In his pursuit of making the Canadian Paralympic Ski Team, Landon has exhibited remarkable poise. Stay tuned for the video of chapter five in the Landon McGauley Project.

Danny has been not only assisting his brother, Conor Toumarkine of Shreddy Times with the video production of this trip, but also re-learning the sport of surfing after recovering from a traumatic brain injury in which doctors had questioned his ability to return to sports due to lack of balance and spatial awareness. Watch Danny’s video Moving Forward here. An amazingly gifted athlete, Danny returned to snowboarding this past winter. To see him attack the surf on a surfboard or SUP (stand up paddle board) is inspiring to say the least.

Stay tuned for the day three re-cap of High Five the Wave..

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