In 1983, Peter Gabriel was touring with David Bowie as part of Bowie’s Serious Moonlight tour. When the tour moved into Vancouver for two shows on September 11 and 12, Gabriel decided that he needed to try some windsurfing between gigs. It didn’t go well.
He fell off his board and tried to swim back to shore. But then he was caught in a riptide and swept to deep water. The only thing that saved him was a last-ditch effort to grab a buoy. He took off his orange safety vest and waved it until lifeguards saw what was going on and were able to rescue him.
Gabriel performed that night and thanked the lifeguards from the stage for saving his life.
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