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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2019)
A4 • Friday, June 7, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com SignalViewpoints How a Seaside surfer deterred a shark M ichael Skogg is one lucky surfer. He survived a potential attack by a great white shark, he reports, and he owes his survival to a device known as “Sharkbanz.” Skogg, 51, is a fi tness authority and strength coach. “ I run work- shops all over the world,” he told me from his Portland fi tness stu- dio. “I’m the guy people call to get trained up. Scoggkettlebell.com.” Q: You are a very lucky guy. Can you take your story from the beginning? Skogg: I went to Hawaii on a surf trip in January. As I was plan- ning my trip to Hawaii, and in my research, I noticed it was a place with a lot of tiger sharks. I read in my research it was a spe- cies Sharkbanz was effective with. Q: What is Sharkbanz? Skogg: It’s like a watch- band — essentially a big, thick, chunky-looking bracelet that has a magnet right in the center. It’s rubber and has quite a few different adjustment slots. It puts out a circle around you like a protective barrier about fi ve or six feet. I’m told it messes with a shark’s sensory organs. Q: You didn’t have any shark encounters in Hawaii? Skogg: Nothing happened in Hawaii, obviously — a good trip. But a buddy of mine I went to Hawaii with ended up getting attacked in Pacifi c City. He got pulled off the back of his board, and that kind of spooked me. I’m the type of guy who thinks to be overinsured doesn’t exist. I bought a second one (Sharkbanz) for my wrist. Q: Tell me about your experience in Seaside. Skogg: I go to Seaside once a week. Have for two years. I come to recharge my battery and I’m back in Portland — it’s an easy day trip. This happened to be a Wednesday. I was there with a buddy. It was a stormy day, but we found a sun patch right over the Cove. Maybe fi ve of us there total. I was quite a ways outside, a good 200 yards from shore, maybe Sharkbanz Surfer demonstrates Sharkbanz wrist band, designed to keep sharks at bay. SEEN FROM SEASIDE R.J. MARX a little more. There were other surf- ers in the water, but not near me — more toward the shore and toward the Point. As a paddle surfer, I kind of get pushed out to the left, so I’m pick- ing up all the lefts. That’s surfer’s left. I was all by myself in my area. I had just gotten thumped by a cleanup set and I was swimming back to my board when a dorsal fi n broke between my board and me. It was a big, dark fi n, and it was com- ing at me hard. When this thing broke, it was so fast I blinked my eyes several times thinking I was seeing things — and I wasn’t. It was coming right at me. I put my paddleboard in front of me with my right hand and grabbed the middle of it with my left hand to brace myself. R.J. Marx Michael Skogg, displaying Sharkbanz device. his I’m bobbing with my head above water, this fi n standing above my head. I can’t determine how large it was, but it was much, much bigger than me. It got within fi ve or six feet and thrashed really hard — then sud- denly made a hard left, and swam out of there. The force of this thing, churning, dragged me behind it — I knew it was big. In that moment I was ready to fi ght. That’s where my head went: I’m going to fi ght this thing because I’m not going to swim away from it. Q: Had you ever encountered a shark before this? Skogg: Never. Q: Were you scared? Skogg: Oh my gosh — it was so fast! I don’t think that fear every really entered my head. Once the whole thing had passed, I got back on my board and made it into shore. I was driving home and I could have cracked my steering wheel in half I was gripping it so tight. Then my adrenaline wore off and I was exhausted. I had to pull over and get out and walk around. I’ve never experienced anything like it honestly. Q: Were there witnesses? Skogg: When I went to shore, I loaded my board on my truck and I was standing there pacing. There’s an old-timer there, I see quite often, he has a white helmet. I’m talking to him and I said, “I just had an encounter.” He said, “Yeah, it’s pretty sharky around here!” My buddy, who was still in the water, out at the Point, because it was fi ring that day, he was catching rides but there was no way in hell I was going back in to warn him. I waited around for a little bit, and fi nally I said, “I’m out of here. I’ll call him on my drive.” Actually he called me when I was heading back. “What happened to you?” I gave him the low-down. He was pretty shocked himself. I think he was a little pissed for not fl agging him, but what do you do? The guy was 500 yards from me, easy, at the point of contact. Q: What makes you think Shark- banz saved you? Because you survived? Skogg: I don’t know! Maybe God put his hand down between the two of us. I have no idea. But this thing was coming hard and coming fast, and I had just enough time to position my paddle between us and it thrashed hard and took off, and my paddle isn’t any- thing special. I had one (Sharkbanz) on my wrist and I had one on my ankle, the opposite side, which they later told me is probably the best confi g- uration you can do because of the diameter of protection. You’re in the middle of this thing, with a 6-to-10- feet magnetic shield around you. It seemed this thing almost hit the wall, it stopped so abruptly and then spun and made a hard left like a 90-degree turn, a big old thrust — and was gone. It was an incredible force. Q: Did you intend to become a Surfbanz company spokesman? Skogg: The only reason I even have involvement with Surfbanz is because I went to my local surf shop and was telling the owners about this band I have, thinking this was a deciding factor in my outcome. They got spooked and they got on the horn right away and called to set up an account. One of the owners of Surfbanz shared my story. Then they reached out to me and asked if I’d give my testimonial. Robert Liddycoat brings history to light Thank you for supporting grads Y T ou might say “A Wander- ing Man” got its start in the 1990s when Robert Liddycoat and his late wife, Bar- bara, bought a home built around 1900 on North Downing Street in Seaside. “My wife began researching the provenance of the house in the county clerk’s archives,” Liddy- coat said. That led her to source materials, including old newspaper stories from The Astorian. Her research led Barbara Liddycoat to the Sea- side Museum and Historical Soci- ety where she read a newspa- per story detailing a shoot out that took place in Seaside in December 1898. “My wife studied everything they had on the incident on micro- fi lm and then she typed every- thing out. That’s when I became interested.” An idea for a novel based on verifi ed information began to take form in Liddycoat’s mind. He began studying old maps, histori- cal society archives, timber com- pany brochures, newspaper stories about gunslingers and shoot -outs, and whatever else that seemed pertinent. His research took him to Baker City where he read about a real life sheriff who became a charac- ter he wrote into the story. Charac- ters based on real people from that period gradually began to come alive. In April 2017 Barbara Liddy- coat died. But her parting gift to her husband was the idea she gave him for a story, and he strongly felt her infl uence urging him to write it. The result is “A Wandering Man,” published by Inkwater Press in Portland. This story covers 13 years in the life of a young man named Jacob Scot, Liddycoat said, leading up to his role in a bloody shoot-out reported in the Astorian newspaper PUBLISHER EDITOR Kari Borgen R.J. Marx Eve Marx Robert Liddycoat debuts his novel, “A Wandering Man,” based on historical events that took place in Seaside over a century ago. VIEW FROM THE PORCH EVE MARX on December 31, 1898. Reprinted at the end of the book is the original article that ran in the Daily Astorian on December 31, 1898, headlined “Tragedy at Sea- side: Three Men Killed and One Hurt in a Desperate Fight.” The novel’s narrative traverses the Oregon locations of Baker City, Austin, Clarno and Golden. The fi nale takes place in the area of modern day Seaside where the Necanicum River runs towards the sea at the cove under Tillamook Head, before circling back inland to Circle Creek. Historical settings in Seaside mentioned in the book include the Grimes Hotel, the Grimes railroad station, the H.F. Logan Saloon, Carlson’s Cottage and Lewis- ton’s Cottage, as well as the actual building now known as the Bridge Tender. “Seaside is a good place for a writer,” Liddycoat said. “You stay in the chair because of the bad winter weather and there’s nothing like looking out on the ocean for inspiration.” Liddycoat no longer resides at the Downing Street address. He now enjoys an ocean view in Seaside. He wasn’t always a writer. “This book started out as a hobby, but after retirement it turned into a fascinating undertak- ing which I couldn’t stop thinking about,” he said. He became obsessed with his creation, Jacob Scot, a young man with no place special to go and nothing special to do. Scot learns to shoot and his skill and integ- rity are tested. As he wanders, the stakes get higher. In December 1898, when Sea- side was a fl edgling resort city, Scot becomes reacquainted with his long lost love, and “a man who it will take more than a bullet to kill,” Liddycoat writes. But kill him he must because the fate of the people Scot cares about hangs in the balance. Stay tuned for local readings and book signings. “A Wandering Man” can be purchased at Beach Books as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the Inkwater Press website at Ink- waterpress.com. Later this summer Liddycoat’s second book is due out, a novel called “Hit + Run.” “This second book is about small town terrorism and the effect it has on two recent retirees in Gladstone, Oregon,” Liddycoat said. Also based on a true life event, this second book assures Liddy- coat’s position as a noteworthy writer of historical fi ction. CIRCULATION MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jeremy Feldman John D. Bruijn ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER SYSTEMS MANAGER Sarah Silver- Tecza Carl Earl Skyler Archibald Darren Gooch Joshua Heineman Rain Jordan Katherine Lacaze Eve Marx Cara Mico Esther Moberg oday’s edition includes a special section profi l- ing the 2019 Seaside High School graduating class. It’s one of our most popular features, connecting families all across the community with this year’s fl ock of fl edglings as they prepare to leave the nest. Leafi ng through the section is both nostalgic and hopeful — from ”How can they be 18 already?!” to “Wow, that kid has got a great future plan.” But I’ll share a little secret with you--this section is never easy to put together--it takes many hours not only for high school staffers to collect the pho- tos and information from the stu- dents, but for our team to manu- ally enter the information, format the pages, match and edit the bios with the photos, collect and match sponsors and prepare for print. It’s a big endeavor. So here’s a shout out to the group that really makes it possi- ble: local advertisers. Without the support of the local businesses who buy ads and sponsor student photo- graphs, this annual graduation section would not happen. It’s their support that pays for the time, production and printing to commemorate one of the most important recognition sections we publish for this community. FROM THE PUBLISHER KARI BORGEN As you leaf through the pages of the section, I know you’ll enjoy looking through the faces and bios of graduating seniors. Also pay attention to the adver- tising sponsors. This year, every student has a sponsor. That’s an incredible show of support for the 2019 graduating class of Sea- side High School. Kids, your local business community is awesome. Congratulations, Seaside High School class of 2019! We hope that you’ll enjoy today’s section and it’s celebration of your achievement for years to come--and thank your sponsors. PUBLIC MEETINGS Monday, June 10 Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Thursday, June 13 Convention Center Commission, 5 p.m., Seaside Civic and Convention Center, 415 First Ave. Cannon Beach Academy, 5:30 p.m., 3781 S. Hemlock St. Gearhart Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 698 Pacifi c Way. Tuesday, June 18 Sunset Empire Park and Recreation Dis- trict, Bob Chisholm Community Center, 5:15 p.m., 1225 Avenue A, Seaside. Seaside School District Board of Direc- tors, 6 p.m., 1801 S. Franklin. Seaside Planning Commission, work session, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broad- way. Wednesday, June 19 Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Thursday, June 20 Seaside Transportation Advisory Com- mission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broad- way. Monday, June 24 Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Seaside Signal Letter policy Subscriptions The Seaside Signal is published every other week by EO Media Group, 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138. 503-738-5561 seasidesignal.com Copyright © 2019 Seaside Signal. Nothing can be reprinted or copied without consent of the owners. The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the author and include a phone number for verifi cation. We also request that submissions be limited to one letter per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138, drop them off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to 503-738-9285, or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com Annually: $40.50 in county • $58.00 in and out of county • e-Edition: only $30.00 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at Seaside, OR, 97138 and at additional mailing offi ces. Copyright © 2019 by the Seaside Signal. No portion of this newspaper may be reproduced without written permission. All rights reserved.
