A4 • Friday, June 7, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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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.
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