Tamayo Perry, big-wave surfer who played a buccaneer in a Pirates of the Caribbean film – obituary

Tamayo Perry surfing in Tahiti - Pierre Tostee/Steve Robertson/Getty Images

Tamayo Perry, who has died aged 49, was a renowned big-wave surfer who also found a degree of fame as a Hollywood stuntman and actor, appearing in the film The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

As a surfer he was known for his brilliant, deep tube-riding performances, where surfers ride inside the barrel of the wave the moment before it breaks. He won the Pipe Masters Trials in 1999 and became well-known for his surfing at Teahupo’o in Tahiti.

In On Stranger Tides, the fourth in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Perry portrayed one of the buccaneers. He was also credited as a stunt performer in two surfing movies, Blue Crush (2002), and The Big Bounce with Owen Wilson (2004), as well as Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and an episode of the Hawaii Five-0 reboot on television.

“When not acting, I’m still quite a character,” he once said.

Perry committed himself to teaching good surf etiquette and safe practices - DPPI Media/Alamy

Tamayo Perry was born on April 15 1975 on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu and brought up in a small town just east of the North Shore, with the island’s notorious surf breaks on his doorstep. It was not long before he took to the sea with a surfboard. According to The Encyclopedia of Surfing, he was seen as the “quiet up-and-coming local boy who had to borrow surfboards because he had no sponsors”.

In 1999 he won the prestigious Pipeline Masters trials. This catapulted him on to the world stage and allowed him a spot in the main event in his home town, in which he showcased his skills in some of the biggest, rawest wave conditions the Pipeline Masters had ever seen.

An invitation to compete at the Teahupo’o Trials in Tahiti soon followed. “Talk about being thrown into the frying pan,” he recalled. “On a scale of one to 10 it was huge. The waves demanded 110 per cent focus, commitment and respect.”

Perry in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Alamy

He made the finals, alongside greats of the sport including Andy Irons, Kelly Slater, and the local favourite, Vetea David, but despite fighting hard he ultimately lost out. His professional surfing career lasted 15 years, but he was an intermittent competitor.

He once told an interviewer that his best ride was down the face of a huge wave in 2008. “I saw this big lump coming and thought, ‘If I don’t get this I’m going to get swatted by what’s out the back.’ ” There was a “gnarly, violent explosion section”, he recalled, before it spit past him, locking him inside the tube. “I remember being blind and having to read the inside of the barrel and use my Jedi mind-trick to get out of that thing. It was mind-blowing.”

Perry had already suffered a near-fatal head injury after being hit by an abandoned surfboard, an accident that required 50 stitches across the top of his head. Partly as a result of that he committed himself to teaching good surf etiquette and safe practices, building a new career as a lifeguard in Honolulu.

Practising for the Pipeline Masters in Hawaii in 2019 - Brian Bielmann/AFP/Getty Images

He was philosophical about the risks and culture of the sport, saying in 2016: “The thing about surfing is that it’s a very Darwinian culture in the sense that it’s eat or be eaten; only the strong survive. If you surf pipe a lot you know death is right around the corner at any moment.”

Known for his cheeky and infectious smile, Perry also had a strong Christian faith, and when he was asked by a surfing magazine to name the last two books he read, he cited The Bible and The End: 50 Reasons Why Jesus Christ Could Return Before the Year 2000.

Tamayo Perry was killed in a shark attack off Goat Island, also known as Moku’auia, off the north-east shore of O’ahu. He is survived by his wife, Emilia, also a surfer and stunt performer, with whom he ran the O’ahu Surfing Experience.

Tamaro Perry, born April 15 1975, died June 23 2024

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