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Former pro surfer known for riding huge Pipeline waves dies in shark attack while surfing off Oahu

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Former pro surfer known for riding huge Pipeline waves dies in shark attack while surfing off Oahu
News

News

Former pro surfer known for riding huge Pipeline waves dies in shark attack while surfing off Oahu

2024-06-25 08:34 Last Updated At:08:40

A well-known Hawaii lifeguard who was killed in a shark attack while surfing off Oahu’s North Shore was a former professional surfer with acting credits to his name, including a role in one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.

Tamayo Perry, 49, was killed Sunday near Goat Island, Shayne Enright of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department said in a statement.

It's not known if Perry was the first professional surfer to be killed in a shark attack, since the definition of a professional in the sport can be blurry, said Brendan Buckley, the editor of Stab Magazine, a website devoted to surfing.

“But in terms of a high-level surfer that people around the world know and respected, he's the first that I'm aware of,” Buckley told The Associated Press Monday from his office in Portugal.

Perry and his wife, Emilia Perry, operated the Oahu Surfing Experience, offering surfing lessons. According to his biography on the business' website, he surfed professionally for over 15 years, highlighted by winning the Pipeline Master trials in 1999.

The Pipeline off Oahu's North Shore is famous for creating a tube that surfers ride for as long as they can. But it's also the most deadly wave in the world, killing some of the world's best surfers, Buckley said. Surfing it became Perry’s specialty, he said.

Surfers either focus on competitions or what they can do outside of those meets.

Perry “was never like somebody that was going to contend for a world title,” Buckley said. "He was more of the type to just kind of hunt down big, crazy waves and have that documented.”

“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 the 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 on the film website www.imdb.com, 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.

"When I’m not acting, I’m still quite a character, so there’s always a ton of fun to be had," he said.

Photographer Brian Bielmann had known and worked with Perry for 25 years, shooting the surfer in both Hawaii and Tahiti. Perry and several friends wound up at a party about five months ago, when Bielmann said they had an incredible bonding experience.

“There’s about five of us there, and we’ve all called each other and just said, ‘We just are so thankful that we had that night with him,’” he said. “Everybody is just shaken to the core. I mean, it’s a gnarly thing to have happen no matter who it is, but to find out it was Tamayo, it’s crazy, man.”

Honolulu Ocean Safety and the city's fire, police and emergency medical services departments responded to Malaekahana Beach on Oahu's North Shore just before 1 p.m. Sunday after a caller reported seeing a man who appeared to have suffered shark bites, Enright said.

Lifeguards brought Perry to shore, where he was pronounced dead, Enright said.

Ocean Safety personnel posted shark warnings in the area following the attack, Enright said.

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 Dec. 30 when a man surfing off Maui was attacked about 150 yards (137 meters) from shore.

Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska.

In this undated image released by the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, shows well-known Hawaii lifeguard Tamayo Perry who was killed in a shark attack, Sunday, June 23, 2024, off Ohau, Hawaii. (Honolulu Emergency Services Department via AP)

In this undated image released by the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, shows well-known Hawaii lifeguard Tamayo Perry who was killed in a shark attack, Sunday, June 23, 2024, off Ohau, Hawaii. (Honolulu Emergency Services Department via AP)

In this undated image released by Christa Funk, shows well-known Hawaii lifeguard Tamayo Perry and his wife Emilia posing for photograph with surf boards. Perry was killed in a shark attack, Sunday, June 23, 2024, off Ohau, Hawaii. (Christa Funk via AP)

In this undated image released by Christa Funk, shows well-known Hawaii lifeguard Tamayo Perry and his wife Emilia posing for photograph with surf boards. Perry was killed in a shark attack, Sunday, June 23, 2024, off Ohau, Hawaii. (Christa Funk via AP)

In this undated image released by Christa Funk, shows well-known Hawaii lifeguard Tamayo Perry pipeline surfing. Perry was killed in a shark attack, Sunday, June 23, 2024, off Ohau, Hawaii. (Christa Funk via AP)

In this undated image released by Christa Funk, shows well-known Hawaii lifeguard Tamayo Perry pipeline surfing. Perry was killed in a shark attack, Sunday, June 23, 2024, off Ohau, Hawaii. (Christa Funk via AP)

FILE - A surfer walks out of the ocean on Oahu's North Shore near Haleiwa, Hawaii, March 31, 2020. Authorities said a professional lifeguard died after he was attacked by a shark while surfing off the island of Oahu in Hawaii on Sunday afternoon, June 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File)

FILE - A surfer walks out of the ocean on Oahu's North Shore near Haleiwa, Hawaii, March 31, 2020. Authorities said a professional lifeguard died after he was attacked by a shark while surfing off the island of Oahu in Hawaii on Sunday afternoon, June 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File)

CLEVELAND (AP) — Alyssa Nakken, the first woman to coach in a Major League Baseball game, is leaving the San Francisco Giants to join the Cleveland Guardians.

Nakken made history in 2022 when she took over as first-base coach following an ejection. A former college softball star at Sacramento State, Nakken joined the Giants in 2014 and was promoted to a spot on manager Gabe Kapler's staff in 2020, becoming the majors' first full-time female coach.

Nakken has been hired as an assistant director within player development for the Guardians, who won the AL Central last season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt — the AL Manager of the Year.

With Cleveland, the 34-year-old Nakken will work with former Giants coaches Craig Albernaz and Kai Correa.

“Nak is a systematic executor of processes and a thoughtful communicator,” Correa said via text message Friday night. "When you combine her skill set with the unique experiences she’s had over the course of her career, it makes her a perfect fit for our player development system. I’m really looking forward to being her teammate again.”

Nakken's exact duties are still being determined. She became a first-time mom welcoming daughter Austyn earlier this year and didn't travel full-time on manager Bob Melvin's staff.

"We thank Alyssa Nakken for her incredible contributions to the San Francisco Giants and for trailblazing a path for women in sports,” the Giants said in a statement on Friday. "Her leadership, dedication, and passion for the game have inspired countless individuals, and her impact has been truly transformative for the Giants organization and the baseball community.

“As she embarks on this exciting new chapter in her career, we have no doubt that she’ll continue to inspire and achieve great things. We wish her and her family nothing but the best.”

Nakken is the second on-field female coach hired by the Guardians. In 2023, Cleveland brought in Amanda Kamekona as its hitting development coach for its year-round training academy in Goodyear, Arizona.

Last season, she was an assistant hitting coach at Double-A Akron. Kamekona was twice a third-team All-American at UCLA after transferring from Cal State Fullerton.

AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley contributed.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

FILE - San Francisco Giants assistant baseball coach Alyssa Nakken speaks to a reporter in San Francisco, July 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Josie Lepe, File)

FILE - San Francisco Giants assistant baseball coach Alyssa Nakken speaks to a reporter in San Francisco, July 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Josie Lepe, File)

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