Tamayo Perry, emblematic surfer of the Hawaiian surfing community, died this Sunday, June 23, 2024 following a shark attack on the Goat Island spot, off the coast of Oahu, in Hawaii. After a report of a man who had been bitten by a shark, police and emergency responders responded to Mālaekahana Beach on Oahu’s north shore around 1 p.m. But after being taken back to the beach by jet ski, Tamayo unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. While some places in the world unfortunately experience frequent shark attacks, fatal attacks in Hawaii are very rare.
A life of surfing
A true Pipeline specialist, this 49-year-old surfer was among the best Hawaiians, all generations combined. After growing up on the east coast of Oahu, Tamayo Perry moved to the north coast of the island, distinguishing himself both in his surfing and in his career as a professional lifeguard.
He was a man of the sea like one finds on this Pacific archipelago, whose mind and body were entirely turned towards the ocean, the power of the latter having forged him since childhood. In recent years, Tamayo divided his life between surfing, his work as a professional lifeguard and his surf school, Oahu Surfing Experience, which he ran with his wife Emilia, a professional bodyboarder.
The bereaved surf community
Since this weekend, the Hawaiian surfing community has been in mourning. A sentence that goes well beyond the Hawaiian borders, surfers from all over the world having expressed their grief and support for his family. Since Monday, tributes and posts have flourished on the island and on social networks, in memory of this much-loved surfer. If Tamayo had acquired the status of surfing legend during his lifetime, notably thanks to his prowess at Pipeline, of which he was a specialist, he will remain so for a long time to come.
Like Kelly Slater, many surfers have expressed their great sorrow and support for the family of the Hawaiian surfer. “ It’s hard to believe. Thank you for your service as a lifeguard on the North Shore, for your preservation of the Pipeline for decades, for the way you entertained kids from the East Coast on their annual trip. You lived the life you loved. But I will miss our discussions every day. You left too soon, legend » are the words of Kelly Slater on her Instagram account.
Who was Tamayo Perry?
*Comments collected in the Encyclopedia of Surfing
A pipeline specialist from the North Shore of Oahu, he was named by Surfing magazine in 2002 as “most likely to get barrel of the year.” Perry was born (1975) and raised on the East Coast of Oahu. He started surfing at age 12 and quickly became best friends with future pop crooner Jack Johnson, who lived in a beach house in Pipeline.
By his late teens, Perry was known as a quiet, up-and-coming local boy who had to borrow surfboards because he had no sponsors. By 1997, the burly surfer had begun to develop a style of tuberider combining the characteristics of Gerry Lopez and Tom Carroll, his two favorite surfers who were members of the old school at Pipeline. In the meantime, he became a devout Christian. Asked by a surf magazine about the last two books he had read, Perry cited the Bible and The End : 50 Reasons Why Jesus Christ Could Return Before the Year 2000.
Perry has competed, with modest success, finishing fourth in the Pipeline Masters Trials in 2000 and fifth in the Billabong Pro Trials at Teahupo’o. Nonetheless, by 2005 he was considered Pipeline’s most dominant surfer. Perry has appeared in over a dozen surf videos, including The Bomb (1998), Revelation (2000), All Aboard (2002) et Loaded Pipe (2004). Emilia Perry, Tamayo’s Australian-born wife, is a professional bodyboarder.
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