Heavy Surf Claims the Life of Bajan Pro in Barbados Zander Venezia, 16, dies after a treacherous session on Barbados' east coast By Matt Pruett 
 
 Published: September 5, 2017 
 
 September 5, 2017 Views: 412,552 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Heavy Surf Claims the Life of Bajan Pro in Barbados Zander Venezia, 16, dies after a treacherous session on Barbados' east coast. 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Related R.I.P. Zander Venezia, one of Barbados' most talented junior pros, who passed away today. He was 16 years old. Photo: Courtesy Facebook 
 
 Always comfortable in the bowels of Soup Bowl, Zander's last session actually happened a bit further north, at a treacherously shallow reefbreak known as "Box by Box." He will be dearly missed. Photo: Mark Harris 
 
 
 
 We are shocked and saddened to report that Zander Venezia, 
 
 
 
 "Horrible news," original Bajan pro-turned-surf instructor Alan Burke told Surfline. "I feel empty, we are in shambles over here. I wasn't there [at the spot], but my wife has been with the Venezia family at the hospital." 
 
 
 
 "I'm told that Zander get overturned by a closeout set, where he likely hit bottom," Alan managed between tears. "Nathan Florence got to him first, then shouted for the other guys and started to perform CPR. Zander was bleeding, and he wasn't moving. They tried to get him to the beach quickly, which was difficult. 'Box by Box' is a tough place to get in and out of, even if you have the ability. There's lots of big rocks around, and some stick out of the water." 
 
 
 
 "When they finally did get him in, they performed CPR on the beach," Alan continued. "The ambulance came really swiftly from Speightstown, and the whole drive Nathan Florence, Dylan Graves and the paramedics continued to try and revive him. But once they got him to the hospital, Zander was breathing, but not responsive. From the time Nathan got to him in the water to when they arrived at the hospital, it was about 75 minutes of nonstop CPR." 
 
 
 
 "He was one of my sons' [Josh and Jacob Burke] best friends, and like a son to me," Alan continued. "We just traveled the whole East Coast together, surfing that last Outer Banks swell together. Zander was such a good, funny kid. He was always joking, and he just loved surfing. He was so jovial, such a joy to be around. I just can't believe he's gone. I'm a mess, man. We're all a mess over here." 
 
 
 
 If there's any consolation to be found in this tragedy, it is in Zander's last words, spoken to Dylan Graves just before that fateful closeout set took his life. 
 
 
 
 "He told Dylan, 'I just got the best wave of my life!'" Alan finished. "Dylan was the last person to speak to Zander. Then that next closeout set came through." 
 
 
 
 Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of this very talented, very likable Bajan surfer. Stay tuned to Surfline as more details become available. 
 
 
 
 UPDATE: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH, 4PM EST: 
 
 
 
 Alan Burke just revealed the following information regarding Zander's death: "Autopsy came back. He was knocked unconscious and drowned. No fractures." 
 
 a budding young pro surfer from Bridgetown, Barbados, died today after surfing a particularly heavy session at a notoriously nasty wave on Barbados' east coast. While the family waits for an official autopsy, it is believed that Zander possibly broke his neck upon hitting the shallow reef.After getting his fair share of big barrels all morning, the 16-year-old got caught by a closeout set, which drove him into the shallow, rocky bottom. Bleeding and unresponsive, he was pulled out of the water by Nathan Florence, who was among a cadre of pros who flew over to Barbados to catch the mega-swell currently being generated by Hurricane Irma. ||||| Young surfer Zander Venezia (left) with his surfing dad, Louis, in happier times. (GP) 
 
 ON A DAY when most Barbadians avoided the beach because of the high surf caused by Category 5 Hurricane Irma, pro junior surfer Zander Venezia took to the waves to do what he loved most. 
 
 But he died after being knocked off his board onto the reef at Cattlewash, St Joseph. Surfers who were there tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate him while he was in the water and on the beach. He was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) by ambulance. 
 
 According to online surf magazine Surfline, Zander’s last words, before that monster set drove him under, were: “I just got the best wave of my life.” 
 
 Zander was 16 and the son of Lisa and champion navigator and surfer Louis Venezia. He has one sister, Bella. He was one of the island’s most promising junior surfers and won the prestigious Rip Curl Gromsearch qualifying event in Outer Bank, North Carolina, a few weeks ago. (HLE/CA) 
 
 Please read the full story in today's Midweek Nation, or in the eNATION edition. ||||| A series of rogue waves swept a California man and his 6-year-old daughter into the sea, and ultimately to their deaths, at the Makapuu Tide Pools on Saturday. 
 
 Family members identified the man as Mark Hornor, a 46-year-old lawyer and an avid cyclist from Berkeley, Calif., and his daughter Mina, the youngest of three daughters in the family. 
 
 The family said Hornor was a sibling of five and that he is remembered by his wife, Jessamy, who is from Hawaii, and their two daughters. 
 
 Hornor's brother, Matthew, said a large wave first knocked over Mina and as Hornor tried to retrieve her, another large wave took them both out into the sea. 
 
 The brother said Hornor was no stranger to the water as an avid surfer, and that he was in very good shape. Last year, Hornor biked 900 miles across the United Kingdom for charity, according to the brother. 
 
 "He was just a fantastic human being, he jumped in tried to save her. And I don't think he wanted to come back empty handed," Matthew Hornor said. 
 
 Lifeguards rushed to the scene on jet skis, plucked the two from the water and administered CPR after bringing them to a nearby beach. But they remained unresponsive, and were later pronounced dead at a hospital. 
 
 Witnesses say the events happened in a matter of moments -- and the aftermath was difficult to watch. 
 
 "There was no movement," said Jamie DeMatoff, who was on the beach when lifeguards were giving the father and daughter CPR. "His body was lifeless just like the little girl. My heart just sank just watching this happen." 
 
 The deaths prompted officials to renew calls to use caution in the area, which has grown in popularity. 
 
 "On a day like today, it wasn't for families down there," said Shayne Enright, spokeswoman for the city Emergency Services Department. "Conditions were not favorable. It's too windy, there's a High Surf Advisory. It's extremely dangerous." 
 
 In recent years, there have been several near-drownings, drownings and other incidents at the spot. 
 
 Just last month, a teenage girl was seriously injured when a large wave knocked her over. A 12-year-old girl was seriously injured in 2015. And in 2011, a father and his 11-year-old daughter drowned at the tide pools. 
 
 "We all send out condolences to that family and that's right now what we want to express," said Enright. 
 
 Meanwhile, the family said they visited the Medical Examiner's Office to see Hornor's body to "give him a kiss on the forehead" but were not allowed to see him until identification was completed. 
 
 - Janelle Guerrero-Miguel contributed to this report. 
 
 Copyright 2016 HawaiiNewsNow. All rights reserved.
– A young professional surfer is dead after venturing into waves generated by Hurricane Irma. Zander Venezia, 16, was surfing on the east coast of Barbados on Tuesday when he ran into trouble with a closeout set—a wave that breaks all at once so that a surfer doesn't have a clear line through it. The wave sent Venezia barreling into the "shallow, rocky bottom" of Cattlewash Beach, where he was afterward found "bleeding and unresponsive," report Surfline and Nation News. Fellow surfers got Venezia to shore and performed CPR, but although the teen was reportedly breathing when he arrived at a hospital, he didn't recover. Initial reports suggested he broke his neck, though Surfline notes an autopsy revealed he drowned. A Barbados native, Venezia was among several pro surfers who ventured out in search of giant waves resulting from Hurricane Irma. His last words were, "'I just got the best wave of my life!,'" per a surf instructor. "Then that next closeout set came through." Loop News reports a high surf advisory was in effect in Barbados on Tuesday, with swells expected to reach up to 13 feet. People were "strongly advised to stay well away from the water" because of the "large battering waves and dangerous rip-currents," the site noted. Venezia, who became a champion youth surfer in Barbados at age 11, was due to compete in the Rip Curl GromSearch National Championship in California next month after winning a qualifying event in August, reports Surfer.