Big break for swell guy

The recent “Big Wednesday for Timmy” event raised $55,000 to defray the medical expenses of Huntington Beach surfer and filmmaker Timmy Turner, who is recovering from a life-threatening infection.

It sometimes seems that everybody in Huntington Beach knows, or at least knows about, Turner ? and if they don’t, chances are they know his mom, Michelle Turner, who owns the Sugar Shack, the hotspot where locals refuel and dry out after leaving the surf.

Last year Timmy Turner suffered a surfing injury that became infected. He spent two weeks in an induced coma after the staph infection reached his brain.

Turner was scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach to replace part of his skull that doctors removed to allow his brain to swell safely.

For the March 29 “Big Wednesday” event, which cost guests up to $100 per ticket, some of the top surfers in the world ? Kelly Slater, Andy and Bruce Irons, Sophia Mulanovich, Chelsea Georgeson, Lisa Anderson, Damian Hobgood, Dane Reynolds, Tommy Carroll and auctioneer Peter “P.T.” Townend ? donated boards for an auction to help the Turner family pay medical expenses. Slater even threw in the jersey he wore during his seventh world championship set.

“I’m just in shock,” Turner said of the support the community showed for him. “I’m speechless.”

The most coveted of the 13 boards up for auction was undoubtedly the camera board Turner used while filming his award-winning surf film “Second Thoughts.” After a spirited bidding war, the board went to Huntington Beach resident Denny Chapman for $10,000. Chapman said he ate breakfast at the Sugar Shack every day for almost 16 years and has known Turner since he was about 7.

Chapman came to the event ready to help the Turner family, and had his eye on the board.

“It’s pretty gnarly,” Turner said about watching one of his favorite boards go for more than any of the others.

When asked what he was going to do with the board, Chapman said he wasn’t sure. He planned on mounting it above his desk and eventually hopes to raise more money for Turner with it.

“Ultimately, it might end up back in Timmy’s hands,” Chapman said.

“Second Thoughts” won the 2004 prize for video of the year at the Surfer Poll & Video Awards. His approach to filmmaking allowed viewers to get barreled by heavy Indonesian surf ? just inches above the reef ? and to journey with Turner and his buddies as they searched for a pristine and unoccupied break.

The movie was shown on the big screen during Wednesday’s event, which was hosted by the Huntington Beach High School Surf Team and ActivEmpire, the sports consulting group run by legendary Australian surfer Townend. Bands on the Huntington Beach indie label Soul Surfer Records, including Zen Robbi and Naked Eyes, entertained the crowd.

When Townend asked Turner when he planned on going on another surf and filming trip, he said he was hoping for September.

Michelle Turner told the crowd through choked-back tears that the neurosurgeon recently told her a miracle had saved her son’s life.

“It was a great evening with a fantastic community vibe,” Townend wrote in an e-mail to the Independent. “The Turner family and the Sugar Shack are the fabric of our community and it was great to see the community turn out and acknowledge that.”

Turner and his wife Jessica have two young daughters.