Local Venice surfers have planned a paddle out at the Venice Pier on Saturday the 26th at 9:30 am in honor of 19-year-old Liam Alexander Taylor who died while surfing his local break at Moonstone Beach in Cambria on Friday, August 18.
“We lost one of our own, beloved sk8prk kid, surfer, and regular at the pier,” wrote Ray Rae of Venice Beach Photos in an email to Yo! Venice.
Caught in a close out wave Taylor suffered severe head and neck injuries according to The Tribune in San Louis Obispo. Although the waves Taylor was surfing were around 6-feet tall, Friends and family said they were shocked he’d come into strife as the experienced surfer and lifeguard had often tackled bigger waves.
Known as Red by locals, Taylor’s birth father lives in Venice and the young surfer was attending Santa Monica College. Ray Rae described Taylor as a Great kid who was “always smiling, always respectful, gone too soon.”
Local businesses Maui and Sons and Venice Bike and Skates are collecting donations to help Taylor’s family with funeral expenses and his family have set up a bereavement fund online at youcaring.com.
One mourner tagged the pier with a tribute to Taylor.
