“For a while, he was one of the top, top, top people out there,” Buckley added. “He got some of the craziest waves of his era. He was insanely respected by obviously everybody there and everybody around the world for what he did.”
Perry said on his website that he took to heart lessons learned from a near-fatal accident while surfing Pipeline years ago.
“The lessons I’ve taken from that event have inspired me to my goal of instilling proper surf etiquette and safety into those whom I teach,” he wrote.
Emilia competed as a professional bodyboarder in Western Australia before moving to Hawaii when she was 18. She and Tamayo met when she was bodyboarding out to a Pipeline wave.
“A few years later, I picked up a surfboard, we got married and there was no turning back,” she wrote. “The vast amounts of ocean knowledge that Tamayo has ingrained in me over the years is priceless.”
Tamayo Perry began his career as a lifeguard on the north shore for the City and County of Honolulu Ocean Safety in July 2016, Enright said.
Perry’s other passion was acting. He had several small roles credited to him by IMDB, including playing a buccaneer in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in 2011. That same year, he appeared in an episode of the television series Hawaii Five-0. He was also in a couple of national commercials.
Perry in 2011’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.Credit: Disney
“When I’m not acting, I’m still quite a character, so there’s always a ton of fun to be had,” he said.
Honolulu Ocean Safety and the city’s fire, police and emergency medical services departments responded to Malaekahana Beach just before 1pm Sunday after a caller reported seeing a man who appeared to have suffered shark bites, Enright said.
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Lifeguards brought Perry to shore, where he was pronounced dead. Ocean Safety personnel posted shark warnings in the area following the attack, Enright added.
Honolulu Ocean Safety acting chief Kurt Lager said Perry was “a lifeguard loved by all.”
“Tamayo’s personality was infectious and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more,” Lager said at a news conference.
“Tamayo was a legendary waterman and highly respected,” Honolulu mayor Rick Blangiardi said, calling Perry’s death “a tragic loss.”
The last fatal shark incident in Hawaii was December 30 when a man surfing off Maui was attacked about 140m from shore.
AP
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