For nearly four decades, Fulton has been entertaining crowds with his yearly windsurfing venture, which he does dressed in full Santa garb. It was never meant to be a big event, but an accident during his inaugural run ended up making headlines around the world. “I was doing a little promotional stunt dressed as Santa when the mainline snapped, so I lost control and drifted across the river,” recalled Fulton. When he was picked up on the other side by border agents, he was asked for his passport, which of course he didn’t have since he never meant to cross the border. The story, that Santa was picked up by border guards and shipped back to Canada, made for good Christmas headline fodder for newspapers, and the legend of Surfing Santa was born.