Hunter S. Thompson(1937-2005)

After covering the 1972 Democratic Convention in Miami for Rolling Stone, Thompson went for an evening swim in the ocean to clear his head. When a light tropical storm blew up, Thompson was caught in a riptide and swept out to sea. He spent the rest of the night fighting to swim back to the beach, finally crawling ashore at 9:00 A.M.

(Concerning Garry Trudeau modeling the "Doonesbury" character "Duke" after him): "I've never met Garry Trudeau, but if I ever do, I'll set him on fire".