For Geoff Moase, his work was his “obsession.” Photo: surfcareers.com
Australian Geoff Moase, 54, died while paddle boarding in Lombok after suffering from a suspected heart attack. The Gold Coast shaper was pulled from the water at Sorga Beach on Friday morning after a fisherman spotted his floating body about 100 meters offshore. Friends attempted CPR before he was rushed to an Indonesian clinic, but he died shortly thereafter. He is the second Australian to die in as many months surfing Indonesia. A third, Queensland father of three, Peter Maynard, is still missing after having vanished on August 27 while surfing off Nusa Lembongan, a small island off the coast of Bali.
“We suspect he was hit by a harsh wave,” West Nusa Tenggara police spokesman Amerun said. “By the time he was pulled from the water, he was already so weak.”
Moase sharing his love. Photo: surfcareer.com
At Moase’s Gold Coast workshop, Dovetail Surfboards, he shaped primarily from Australian-grown plantation timbers. In an interview with the website surfcareers.com, he described his work as an “obsession.” Having surfed since he was a child, he counted himself fortunate to be doing what he loved: “At least half of it is just being part of a postcard-like scene. Surfing reminds me that I’m lucky to live in a country that’s free.”
Our thoughts and well-wishes go out to his family, friends, and others affected by the tragic turn of events.
