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Parker Coffin, brother of Conner and gifted rider of waves in his own right, posted on Instagram this morning that he’d taken a hellacious wipeout in Barbados, suffering a gruesome head injury and possible damage to his left eye. He was waiting to fly to Florida for surgery as he tapped this post:
“When it goes from dreamy to scary really quickly,” he wrote. “Yesterday, I took off on a perfect-looking wave and pulled in, hit an unexpected ledge in the barrel and got off balance enough to get mowed by the foam ball. The way I fell sent me straight into the reef onto my face and shredded my left eye and nose… dazed and confused I came up in time to get a loud yell and a big breath before taking the next wave on the head. Lucky for me the crew in the lineup was quick to grab me and help me get to shore. Spent the day in the hospital getting tests on my brain and eye and it’s looking like I’m all good. Just boarding a flight to Miami now to get into surgery tomorrow morning… can’t thank the Bajan crew enough for their hospitality and support through the last 24 hours. You all know who you are and from the bottom of my heart I thank you !! Don’t know if I’d be here without you guys. Grateful to still be here and thank you to everybody who reached out to check in, especially @miniblanchard for spending all day in the hospital with me… what a bonding experience that was !!! Do it cuz we fucking love it!!! I’ll be back!”
Parker was surfing Soup Bowls when the wipeout occurred – one of the island’s most well-known waves. “I got so pounded, it was pretty scary and I’m happy to be here,” he told The Inertia. “I was pretty dazed but I was conscious.”
The reefs of Barbados can be treacherous. In 2017, 16-year-old Zander Venezia was killed surfing Box by Box, a rocky, sheltered setup just to the north of Soup Bowls. Parker, one of our favorite freesurfers, has been on a tear the last few years. He starred in 2021’s Snapt4 and has played the part of road warrior lately (see New Zealand and Japan). Heal up quick young Coffin.
