The Rhode Island Surfer Helping People Heal From Loss With One Last Wave

Everything I know about surfing I learned from watching The Brady Bunch episodes in which they travel to Hawaii and Greg ends up wiping out in the surfing competition.

Also, multiple viewings of the original Point Break with Keanu Reeves and the late Patrick Swayze. (Who’s idea was it to remake that movie? It’s cinematic sacrilege I tell you!)

And I do enjoy seeing the surfers at Narragansett Town Beach and Second (Sachuest) Beach in Middletown in the winter.

Photo Courtesy Of Me

So, not an expert by any stretch but still pleasantly surprised when I first found out (from a terrific friend) about Dan Fischer’s amazing One Last Wave Project, which he launched online in January of 2021.

After his father’s passing, Mr. Fischer (who is indeed based in Rhode Island — Newport, Rhode Island specifically) started writing his dad’s name on his surfboard and thus, symbolically taking him out on the water as part of his healing process.

From that sprung the idea of helping others dealing with loss, by incorporating names written on a board and taking that board out on One Last Wave as a tribute to those who may have gone but are never forgotten.

Image From The One Last Wave Instagram

After creating social accounts devoted to this effort, Mr. Fischer then hopped on and asked people to comment with the name of a loved one who had passed and who had adored the ocean (or the outdoors) and why they would want them to be a part of One Last Wave.

Next he started chronicling the process online which involves writing those names on a surfboard with a silver Sharpie (the board itself is black so that the names are visible) and then taking that board — AND THE MEMORY OF THOSE FOLKS — out on the water for ONE LAST WAVE.

That being said, I HIGHLY recommend giving him a follow on Insta @OneLastWave and reaching out if you want to pay tribute to someone you have lost.