A lifeguard and surfing instructor who made appearances in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has died following a shark attack. Tamayo Perry, 49, who worked as an Ocean Safety lifeguard and also taught surf lessons, was attacked by a shark off the island of Oahu in Hawaii on Sunday. He was spotted by a man who alerted the emergency services. He was reportedly dragged into the water and then brought back to shore on jet skis but was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Perry, described as a professional surfer and surf instructor by the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, was a well-known member of the Hawaiian surfing community. The department’s Shayne Enright said he was attacked near Goat Island on the north of the island. Police, firefighters, and the City of Honolulu’s Ocean Safety responded to calls at 1 pm on Sunday about a man with wounds that looked like shark bites, reports the BBC. The body was recovered off Malaekahana Beach on Oahu’s north shore and brought to the shore, where he was pronounced dead.
According to the Star-Advertiser, Perry started surfing in 1975 and became a pro in 1992. He had a reputation for being able to tackle the notoriously dangerous wave that breaks at Ehukai Beach in Oahu and regularly competed in the Pipeline Master Trials. His skills also caught the attention of movie producers, and he appeared in 2002’s Blue Crush, 2003’s Charlie’s Angels 2, and several episodes of Hawaii Five-O.
He also starred in the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which also starred Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, and Ian McShane.
As a professional surfer and lifeguard, Perry was well-known on the North Shore of Oahu, where he began working with the Ocean Safety Department in July 2016. Kurt Lager, acting chief of Honolulu’s Ocean Safety, described him as a ‘lifeguard loved by all’ and a professional surfer known worldwide.
After the death, Mr Lager reportedly asked for privacy for Perry’s family and friends. Surfing community members have reacted to the news, with many posting messages of condolence on social media. Others have described the loss of a ‘legendary waterman.’ In a post on Facebook, a friend of Mr Perry’s wrote: “RIP Tamayo. A beautiful soul that will be missed by many”.
