.PNG)
Milton Willis is a passionate surfer, world champion big wave surfer, officially recognized life saver, ocean safety expert, and the founder of Think Waves Life Saving Organization.
Surfing for Life
These days Milton can be seen regularly surfing his “foamy” at San Diego’s North County beaches from Torrey Pines to Cardiff Reef. When he isn’t surfing he manages his time working out and working tirelessly to promote “the Surfers Way” to survive rip currents.
“The best part about surfing in North County is the waves basically break here every day.” San Diego surf may not be the biggest or most perfect but it is amongst the world’s most consistent surf with a pleasant climate and mild ocean temperatures year round making it ideal for surfing.
Time permitting, if he can go surfing he does,the only time Milton doesn’t go surfing is when work is piled up or on foggy or rainy days especially if lightning and thunder are present.
Milton recommends everyone surf as much as they can get in the ocean to connect with nature and recharge their spirit and soul. For those that don’t surf he encourages them to just dive in and reap the mental and physical benefits of “Ocean Therapy” He adds if you’re not near the ocean “Even thinking about the ocean can have numerous benefits, the Blue Mind effect.”
Surfing Experience and Expertise
Though Milton Willis is recognized for surfing the world’s largest waves in 1998 he readily admits, “Even the smallest wave has the power of the entire ocean behind it.” He is passionate about sharing his experience and knowledge with all beach goers hoping to reduce ocean rescues and prevent needless drownings worldwide.
Ocean Safety Expert
Officially awarded from the City and County of Honolulu, Oahu for successfully rescuing others in extreme hazardous ocean conditions Milton knows firsthand the importance of educating others that have little or no experience in the ocean how to stay safe the way surfers do by understanding the natural rhythm and flow of the ocean.
99.9 percent of ocean rescues and drowning could be prevented if the general public only knew what experienced surfers have known for decades and this is, Rips go out, Waves come in. It’s really that simple, to avoid rip currents wade or swim in front of waves, and this needs to be taught everywhere. As well, swimmers need to understand if caught in a rip current without assistance to escape, getting to the waves is the only way back to shore.
Lifesaver
Recently while surfing Cardiff Milton noticed two young kids caught in a rip current trying to get back to shore. One was
swimming and the other one had a boogie board. Looking around Milton didn’t see any parents and the lifeguards were nowhere to be seen.
At this point the bigger kid gave his boogie board to the smaller one and the two boys began fighting as hard as they could to get back to shore. They were unaware that 20 feet over breaking waves would easily bring them back to the beach.
Being an experienced waterman Milton sprang into action with no further delay. Grabbing his surfboard he jumped into the ocean and quickly paddled out to the panicked duo. 300 yards up the beach the boys father saw what was happening and with a surfboard in hand he began running towards the action.
By the time the father got there Milton had the situation handled and the two young boys back on shore. The kids wear visibly shaken but they were safe. At this point the boys mother appeared crying. Milton reassured the family all was good and when everyone calmed down he explained the importance of using wave energy to both avoid and or escape from rip currents.
This rescue could have been prevented had the boys knew ahead of time to play in front of the breaking waves to avoid the rip current. This rescue could have been avoided had the boys known, rather than fighting the rip current help was just 20 feet away, help being the waves pushing shoreward.
Founder Think Waves Lifesaving Org.
Knowing the majority of experienced surfers either consciously or intuitively already understand the natural rhythm and flow of the ocean, rips out waves in, Milton realized along time ago it was the general population going to the beach that needed to be informed about the “Surfers Way” of navigating rip currents.
Milton Willis founded Think Waves Life Saving Organization with the ambitious goal of making the Surfers Way to avoid and or escape rip currents common knowledge worldwide.
Drowning is Preventable
There are no published statistics directly measuring how many ocean rescues could be prevented if all victims knew the "surfers way" or the information from thinkwaves.org. However, major aquatic safety organizations such as United States Lifeguarding Association U. S. L. A. emphasize that public safety education and prevention—such as understanding ocean hazards, rip currents, and how to stay calm and self-rescue—can significantly reduce the need for rescues.
Given that lifeguards in the U.S. perform over 100,000 rescues annually, and that many of these involve swimmers caught in rip currents or panicking, it's reasonable to infer that widespread knowledge of "the surfers way" (which teaches how to handle rip currents and ocean conditions) could prevent a substantial portion of these incidents. While an exact percentage is not available, experts often suggest that prevention and education could reduce rescues by a significant margin—potentially tens of thousands of cases per year—if beachgoers applied this knowledge.
Milton Willis and Think Waves Lifesaving Organization will be holding a series of ocean safety clinics this summer, teaching beach goers how to spot, avoid and or escape rip currents for maximum safety and fun. If you or friends and family are interested in attending please visit Thinkwaves.org for updates.
If you are interested in learning more about Milton Willis get 100 foot wave the official book. You will love it. Think Waves building community one wave one person at a time
