Surfline founder Sean Collins dies at 59
The legendary surf forecaster and founder of Surfline.com Sean Collins died from an apparent heart attack while playing tennis at his club in Newport Beach in California, America, on Monday afternoon, December 26.
He was 59 years old and left behind his wife Daren and two sons Tyler and A.J.
According to Collin’s youngest son A.J., the surf-forecasting pioneer was busy playing tennis at the club in Newport Beach near his home in Seal Beach, when all of a suddenly he suffered a heart-attack and died.
The news if his death came as a huge shock for his entire family, who were together as the reality sank.
Aside from his family, the death of Collin has sent the entire surfing community in mourning as they struggle to grapple with the news of the loss of one of the most influential and prominent surfers. Not only had he made invaluable contributions to surfing through his forecasting services, but also played a significant role in the progression of the sport.
Growing up at the Seal Beach in 1960s, Collins provided his services to the Lifeguard Department through phone-in surf reports. However, he soon realised the true extent of his gift and skill to correctly forecast swells, eventually becoming the first person to manipulate the weather and oceanic data collected by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to accurately forecast where and when storm-generated swell would arrive.
His unprecedented knowledge of the waves led to the establishment of Surfline in March, 1985. While the company started off as a phone company, it gradually shifted its operation to Internet, becoming the world’s first surf forecasting website. It took it only a few years to become the most popular surfing website on the Internet.
The legendary surf-forecaster had dedicated his life to uncovering the mystery of the waves, understanding the effect of winds and sharing his knowledge with the rest of the world. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2008 due to his numerous and invaluable contributions to the sport.
The details regarding the memorial service of Collin are not available as yet.
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