Hawaii lifeguard Tamayo Perry dies in shark attack while surfing off Oahu

A well-known Hawaiian lifeguard who died in a shark attack while surfing off the north shore of Oahu was a former professional surfer with acting experience, friends and acquaintances said Monday.

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

It is not known whether Perry was the first professional surfer to die in a shark attack, as the definition of a professional in the sport can be vague, said Brendan Buckley, editor of Stab Magazine, a website dedicated to surfing.

“But as far as a top surfer that people around the world know and respect, he’s the first one I know,” Buckley told The Associated Press on Monday from his office in Portugal.

Perry and his wife, Emilia Perry, operated the Oahu Surfing Experience and offered surfing lessons. According to his bio on the company’s website, he surfed professionally for over 15 years, with his highlight being winning the Pipeline Master Trials in 1999.

The Pipeline off Oahu’s north shore is known for creating a tube that surfers ride for as long as they can. But it’s also the world’s deadliest wave, killing some of the world’s best surfers, Buckley said. Surfing that wave has become Perry’s specialty, he said.

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

Perry “was never someone who was going to fight for a world title,” Buckley said. “He was more of a guy who just chased big, crazy waves and documented it.”

“For a while he was one of the absolute top guys out there,” Buckley added. “He rode some of the craziest waves of his time. He was incredibly respected by everyone there and everyone around the world for what he did.”

Perry said on his website that he had taken to heart the lessons of a near-fatal accident while surfing the Pipeline years ago.

“The lessons I learned from this event have inspired my goal of teaching my students proper surfing etiquette and safety,” he wrote.

Emilia competed as a professional bodyboarder in Western Australia before moving to Hawaii at 18. She and Tamayo met when she bodyboarded out to a Pipeline wave.

“A few years later, I got a surfboard, we got married and there was no turning back,” she wrote. “The enormous knowledge of the sea that Tamayo has given me over the years is priceless.”

Tamayo Perry began his career in July 2016 as a lifeguard on the North Shore for the City and County of Honolulu Ocean Safety, Enright said.

Perry’s other passion was acting. The film’s website credited him with several small roles www.imdb.com, This included the role of a privateer in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” in 2011. In the same year, he appeared in an episode of the television series “Hawaii Five-0”. He also appeared in several national commercials.

“When I’m not acting, I’m still a real character, so it’s always a lot of fun,” he said.

Honolulu Ocean Safety, as well as the city’s fire, police and emergency services, responded to Malaekahana Beach on Oahu’s north shore shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday after a caller reported seeing a man who appeared to have been bitten by a shark, Enright said.

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

Following the attack, Ocean Safety staff issued shark warnings in the area, Enright said.

Kurt Lager, acting director of Honolulu Ocean Safety, said Perry was “a lifeguard loved by all.”

“Tamayo’s personality was infectious and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else even more,” Lager said at a news conference.

“Tamayo was a legendary and highly respected fisherman,” said Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, calling Perry’s death “a tragic loss.”

The last fatal shark incident in Hawaii was December 30th, when a man surfing off Maui was attacked about 137 yards from shore.

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Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska.