Getting his fix
Far from ocean, Bayfield man finds fun, peace on the river
July 16, 2007
By Katie Burford | Herald Staff Writer
Dick Benzie said his neighbors think he’s a bit daft.
At the sight of him rounding a bend on the Pine River on a board in a surfer’s stance, it’s easy to imagine why.
But the Southern California native says he’s just trying to get a surfing fix as best he can hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean.
“My wife goes, ‘Why don’t you just go surfing and forget all this?’” he said, still dripping from a trip down the river Sunday.
But Benzie, 49, says he enjoys the sensation of being carried along by a powerful body of water, even if the waves are pretty weak compared with the ocean.
“It’s just relaxing. That’s the enjoyment of it,” he said.
He uses a wind-surfing board that he stripped down and added a rubber fin to. He carries a paddle to help keep himself on track.
A concrete contractor who lives outside Bayfield near the Pine River, Benzie started experimenting with the setup three years ago to tide himself over between trips to surf destinations such as California, Costa Rica and Mexico.
“After a hard day of work, walk to the river and - plop,” he said.
He acknowledges that water-skiing might be a closer warm-weather substitute, but he says the noise of the boat and the equipment required make it less appealing.
He said others likely have experimented with river surfing.
“I’m sure there are other people doing the same thing,” he said.
Benzie, a father of two teenagers, said his improvised sport is not without risks. He’s gone sailing over the front when the board has gotten lodged on the rocks in shallow water. Once his injuries were so bad he had to sit out a couple days of a real surf trip.
Benzie’s 15-year-old son, Dustin, came to pick up him up at a bridge about three miles down from where his dad had launched.
While others may think it wacky, Dustin is a fan of his dad’s hobby.
“I think it’s way cool,” he said.
