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Surfing 'Ace' Bob Fram riding the surfboard that he shot down an airplane with. For real.
SPLASH ONE!
North Shore, Oahu 1977.
Bob Fram was the furthest surfer out in the lineup at Pipeline on a clear sunny November morning when a low flying aircraft approaching from Rocky Point seemed to be descending and honing in on him. The pilot of the Pitts "Baby Great Lakes" model acrobatic biplane surely intended to buzz the pack of surfers at Pipeline, but unbeknownst to him, Fram had sudden plans...
Bob sank his surfboard deep between his legs and with perfect timing shot it straight up just as plane flew 15 feet overhead. The impact to the lower left wing sounded with a violent crack, and the surfboard stuck there for a few seconds before falling back into the surfline past Off-The-Wall.
Bob's surfboard had a massive ding one foot wide from rail-to-stringer. Apparently the biplane's fabric covered wing suffered extensive damage as well.
Ironically, at that time Bob was renting a room at my parents house along Kawainui canal and it just so happened that the pilot lived right across the water. The incident was written about in Sports Illustrated magazine and ended up in court. The pilot, Bill Connelly, had his pilots license suspended for six months and Fram was awarded a $1000 judgement.
Before the trial NTSB investigators asked Fram to demonstrate how his surfboard flew up in the air as he "fell backwards in a scared panic". In the dark opaque muddy canal water behind our house, Fram put on a masterful performance. What the NTSB didn't see below water level was Bob affixing his foot grip on the tail of his board. With flailing arm foolery Bob shoved his foot down hard and fell backwards. The Federal investigators bought it hook, line, and sinker as the surfboard amazingly launched 10-12 feet up into the air and hung there for a moment as it seemed to have caught a gust of wind. His Academy Award winning stunt work was likely irrelevant as FAA regulations state that an aircraft must be 500 feet above and 500 feet away from any human activity. Pilot Connelly maintained that Fram "threw" the surfboard at him. Darn right he did, and it was a damn good shot.
Incidentally, the aircraft involved was actually co-owned by my commercial / instrument ground school instructor at the time - U.S. NAVY Commander Davidson Luehring - a straight arrow, true blue, by the book, silver bearded bald eagle. When I questioned if his biplane was light blue in color, he replied "Was that your surfboard?!" I answered that a friend of mine was involved and he lashed out about how the surfboard was deliberately thrown at the plane. At the same time, Luehring knew Connelly was totally out of bounds.
It's a small world, and an even smaller island.
A perennial Pedalpalooza favorite of mine.. Splash Dance! We had a great sound system and rode to a few fountains downtown for dancing and playing.
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Sam after riding Splash Mountain during the Mountain Challenge at the Coolest Summer Ever 24-Hour Party in Magic Kingdom Park.
Splash! by Pin the Tale. Performed in Lyric Square as part Theatre in the Square 2013
Photo by David Tett
A perennial Pedalpalooza favorite of mine.. Splash Dance! We had a great sound system and rode to a few fountains downtown for dancing and playing.
Splash! by Pin the Tale. Performed in Lyric Square as part Theatre in the Square 2013
Photo by David Tett
Splash! by Pin the Tale. Performed in Lyric Square as part Theatre in the Square 2013
Photo by David Tett
Splash! by Pin the Tale. Performed in Lyric Square as part Theatre in the Square 2013
Photo by David Tett
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Another test shot with my Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. Happy with the quality considering it was handheld and zoomed from right the other side of the canal.
As is so often the case, it looks Better On Black
Just Annie and the boys this time (Annie sat on the wrong side of Christopher, so you can't see him - sheesh... rookie!). I was back at the hotel, meeting a friend.
Splash! by Pin the Tale. Performed in Lyric Square as part Theatre in the Square 2013
Photo by David Tett
Splash! by Pin the Tale. Performed in Lyric Square as part Theatre in the Square 2013
Photo by David Tett
Splash! by Pin the Tale. Performed in Lyric Square as part Theatre in the Square 2013
Photo by David Tett
For more of my splashes: www.flickr.com/photos/sergiocrivelin/sets/72157614960628113/
Canon PowerShot A470