Forget about jumping the shark: A surfer said he surfed a shark on the Oregon coast Monday.

Doug Niblack said it happened at “the cove,” a popular surfing spot in Seaside. He was surfing Monday afternoon when a 10- to 12-foot shark hit his board and knocked him off, he said.

Niblack said he ended up standing on top of the shark, which he believes was a Great White. He said it lifted him out of the water above his knees for several seconds, then it took off.

“It pulled my leg about three feet, hooked on my leash, then it was gone,” said Niblack. “And that was the scariest part, when I didn’t know where it was anymore.”

He was not hurt.

President Aníbal Cavaco Silva of Portugal released a statement endorsing the Ericeira World Surfing Reserve, which will be officially dedicated as the first World Surfing Reserve on the European continent on October 14th, 2011. He acknowledged the significance of preserving the surfing coastline for not only the thousands of Portuguese surfers, but also for the vitality of Portugal’s economy, the health of the coastal and marine environment, and maintaining a high quality of life for residents.

“When we talk of surfing at our beaches, we are talking about much more than a sport: we are evoking a lifestyle and a relationship with the sea that is very Portuguese, a relationship that is natural and ancestral,” President Silva states. “The designation of Ericeira as a World Surfing Reserve should serve as an example to stimulate everyone to aspire to a more environmentally healthy country with an excellent standard of living.” *

The Ericeira coastline will officially be dedicated as a World Surfing Reserve on October 14th, 2011. The dedication ceremony will honor Ericeira’s unique surf history, culture, and environment.This ceremony will include a sunrise paddle out at Ribeira d’Ilhas followed by the official dedication event at the Parque de Santa Marta in Ericeira. More details about the dedication schedule and the event’s special touches will be made available in the next couple of days at worldsurfingreserves.org.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Not long ago, Anthony Ruffo surfed everywhere from Santa Cruz to South Africa, a glamorous life of big waves, photo shoots and beautiful women, bankrolled by corporate sponsors.

“Ruffo was a big deal, definitely someone you wanted to be like,” said Shawn Barron, another Santa Cruz surfer.

Today, Mr. Ruffo is staring at prison. A recovering methamphetamine addict, he is charged for the second time with dealing the drug in the seaside town where he grew up.

Mr. Ruffo, 48, admits he once sold meth in partnership with a violent Latino street gang, the Norteños. His story illuminates meth’s destructive march through Santa Cruz in recent years, reaching into a surfing community associated more with vitality and communion with the natural world than with drugs.

“In the back of my head, I was, like, I’m too deep in this game,” Mr. Ruffo said in an interview at a Santa Cruz house where he regularly used drugs in the past and now helps other recovering addicts. “It’s hard to pull out once you get there.”