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Peruvian surfer Joaquin Del Castillo took a nasty fall on Oahu’s North Shore. Taking off on his backhand at Pipeline’s right, Backdoor, the 28-year-old was hit by the lip and slammed on the reef. Unable to walk due to several pelvis fractures sustained in the fall, he was rescued and carried up to the beach by fellow surfers and lifeguards.
It turns out that Del Castillo doesn’t have international medical insurance and, due to the severity of the injury, had to undergo surgery in Hawaii. San Diego-based surfer Skip McCullough started a crowdfunding campaign to support Del Castillo with the immense medical expenses that he has incurred, aiming to raise USD $100,000. At the time of publication, the campaign had raised more than $12,000 with contributions from notable professional surfers like Gabriel Villaran, Balaram Stack, Parker Coffin, Barron Mamiya, Keanu Asing, and Lucca Mesinas, among others.
Early reports are saying that Del Castillo’s surgery was a success and he has three to four months of recovery ahead of him.
Del Castillo is the third surfer to suffer a serious injury at Pipeline this winter season. Earlier in December, Brazilian Joao Chianca was knocked unconscious and resuscitated on the beach after a wipeout. A few weeks later Tahitian Emilio Czermak was hospitalized after a Pipeline wipeout of his own.
Having been competing on the WSL Qualifying Series (QS) since 2011, Del Castillo was in Hawaii training for next month’s DaHui Backdoor Shootout, which will run between January 4-16 at Pipeline. Del Castillo’s best result came in 2016 when he won the Cape Town Pro on the QS.
