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Photos Nate O. Johnson/Orion Photos
Wellfleet has come together around Caleb Potter, shown above in 2006 heading out with plows to his clam flats, who suffered severe head trauma from a skateboard accident on July 4th. |
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On July 8, Caleb’s father, Jan, (below) along with nearly 130 friends and family on surfboards and kayaks joined for a “paddle-out,” holding hands in a prayer circle just offshore at Lecount Hollow Beach. |
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Strong bonds
Friends & family unite in support of injured Wellfleet son
WELLFLEET — Caleb Potter is the kind of ’Fleetian who can draw 128 surfers out in the water on a flat day.
Potter, 25, was involved in a serious accident on July 4th that has left him in uncertain condition at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. It could have been a scene out of a movie about one Fourth of July afternoon in a coastal town: a young man in his mid-20s holds onto his friend’s pickup truck to get a tow down the road on his skateboard. Unfortunately, in this real-life story, Potter never reached his destination because, according to Wellfleet police Lt. Ron Fisette, his skateboard somehow got underneath the wheel of the pickup on Commercial Street and Potter was pitched forward. As a result, he suffered serious head trauma, the extent of which is currently unknown. He wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
Potter is part of a tight-knit generation who grew up in Wellfleet, and for them, as well as those from the older generations who watched them grow up, “it’s like a brother got hurt,” says Wentzel Ruml, who knows Potter as the “kid” who’s his stepson’s friend and as the “young man” who’s a fellow shellfisherman.
“These kids are not kids anymore, but that’s how I know them. A super-tight group,” says Ruml.
Reports from those who were at Cape Cod Hospital immediately following the accident say there were up to 60 people in the emergency room that night. Every day since the accident, a prayer circle organized by Potter’s friend Sky has been held at 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. in front of Town Hall, where a shrine has been created from flowers, votives, pictures and personal items, including the pirate flag Potter carried in the July 4th parade. Mostly, Wellfleet residents show up to support each other and send their energy and prayers out to their brother who’s 100 miles away in a hospital room. Potter’s friends are reluctant to talk about the accident, with many saying, “There’ll be time for that later.” Right now, they just want Potter back home in Wellfleet.
Olaf Valli, Potter’s friend and owner of Sick Day surf shop, wanted to broaden that support group to include the surfing community Potter is also a part of, and he began a word-of-mouth campaign to bring surfers to Lecount Hollow Beach on July 8 to paddle out on the calm water and form a prayer circle. A paddle-out is a longstanding tradition in the surfing culture that shows respect for a fallen surfer and gathers the community to talk about that person. While nearly 130 friends and family on surfboards and kayaks circled up to hold hands just offshore, roughly the same number watched from the beach and parking lot, including Potter’s mother, Sharyn Lindsey.
Lindsey’s other two sons, Kai and Max, shared the center of the ring with their father, Jan Potter, along with Caleb’s girlfriend Jennie and close friends Valli and Shaye Cavanaugh. Kai and Max were on either side of Cavanaugh, each grasping one of his hands. Cavanaugh was driving the pickup at the time of the accident. The floating congregation said prayers, shouted “Arrr!” in honor of Caleb, the self-dubbed “Yellowbeard” pirate, and threw colorful leis into the water. Valli also took time to give everyone information related to Caleb in an effort to relieve some of the burden from the family, who he says takes roughly 60 calls a day from concerned friends.
A website has been set up at calebpotter.blogspot.com that includes updates on Potter’s condition, pictures and information about donating to The Caleb Potter Benefit Fund, which can be done at any Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank branch or by mailing contributions to Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, P.O. Box 697, Wellfleet, MA 02667.
Several fundraisers are being held around the Outer Cape to help with Caleb’s care. The Free Style’n Hair & Nail Salon, Main Street Mercantile, Eastham, will donate proceeds from haircuts and manicures from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 4 to 6 p.m. every Tuesday and 4 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday throughout the summer. Check the Banner and the Banner Online for updates on fundraisers.
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For Your Information
Outer Cape Worship Services
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Jul 12th, 2007