Community devastated after Sydney dad, 41, dies while surfing
A 41-year-old dad who died suddenly during his regular morning surf has been remembered as a “kind and caring” man by his local community.
Carl Robinson, a local real estate agent and “big personality”, was paddling in the water at Cronulla beach at around 7am on July 15 when four fellow surfers noticed him suddenly slump over, his friend and colleague Liz Stevens told Yahoo News Australia.
It’s understood the surfers — including three teenage boys who often rode waves with Mr Robinson — saw the dad’s head in the water and rushed over to help after realising something was wrong.
Ms Stevens said the group jumped off their boards and worked to keep Mr Robinson afloat while they paddled him back to shore, performed CPR and alerted the lifeguards.
Despite their and paramedics’ best efforts, the 41-year-old died on the beach.
“Even though the outcome unfortunately wasn’t a good one, they gave it the best shot they could,” Ms Stevens said, adding that she’s been told by some of the teens’ parents that they were “very shaken” after the traumatic incident.
“The young boys knew Carl because they’d seen him out there every morning and had a banter with him.”
Mr Robinson leaves behind his wife Amy and their two children — a six-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl.
“At only 41 his life has ended too soon,” Ms Stevens said.
It is not yet known how the dad died and the family is awaiting test results.
'A kind heart and big spirit'
In an effort to help his devastated wife, Ms Stevens has created a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Mr Robinson’s funeral, which will be held on Friday.
“He was very well-known, had a lot to do with the community and had a kind heart and big spirit,” Ms Stevens said.
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Other Cronulla locals have echoed her sentiments, taking to Facebook to pay tribute to the 41-year-old.
“He was excellent. Loved a good yarn with him,” one woman wrote, adding Mr Robinson loved spending time with his family.
“He loved his mates too! A good one taken too soon,” another person said.
Numerous others sent their condolences to Amy and her children.
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