Thousands Of Surfers Join Hands To Celebrate The Life Of Jack O’Neill
Santa Cruz, 10th of July 2017. Jack O’Neill, surfer, ocean lover, boating enthusiast, wetsuit pioneer, balloonist, and founder of the iconic worldwide surf company O’Neill, passed away in Santa Cruz, California, of natural causes at the age of 94 on 2nd of June 2017.
Most recognisable for his eye patch and his beard, Jack’s desire to surf longer drove him to create an innovative suit that allowed surfers to be the first in the icy waters of the San Francisco Bay and the last out. Playing around with materials to create a barrier between the body and the ocean, Jack’s first suits were built of unicellular foam material that he bought from a local surplus store. Jack O’Neill’s invention of the wetsuit opened up a whole new world – suddenly people started surfing and other watersports in cold water destinations. 60% of people in the water today would not be surfing without Jack O’Neill’s vision.
The life of this legendary waterman Jack O’Neill was honoured spectacularly in a worldwide series of memorial paddle outs on Sunday 9th July and Monday 10th July 2017. The moving display united surf communities across the globe with over 3,500 surfers joining hands in the world’s biggest floating memorial sequence to date.
Paddle-outs are the traditional ceremony in the surfing world to honor surfers. Family, friends and also fans gather at a surf spot, paddle out together on their surfboards, form a ring and tell stories and bring back memories to honor the surfer that passed away.
Jack’s hometown of Santa Cruz, California led proceedings with simultaneous paddle outs taking place in Australia, Canada, England, Belgium, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Japan and South Africa.
With no greater way to honour a man whose life was led by the ocean, the memorial paddle outs were a chance for surfers across the world to pay their respects and remember the man who “just wanted to surf longer.”
Brian Kilpatrick (Marketing Manager of O’Neill Wetsuits): “Every time you are pulling into your wetsuit and jumping in the water, we can all thank Jack for just wanting to surf longer – so thank you Jack!”
As the clouds parted and the fog lifted in Santa Cruz, a huge crowd of surfers gathered at Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz next to Jack O’Neill’s house to form the biggest memorial celebration the surfing world has seen to date. Over 2500 people joined the celebration on surfboards and in boats in the water and lining the cliff. With the O’Neill family on Jack’s legendary sailing yacht in the center of the circle, former world champion and close friend of the O’Neill family Shaun Tomson honoured Jack as one the pioneers and founders of the surfing industry. “For all of us floating out here, some of the best moments of our lives have been spent in the water – waiting under the great dome of sky and catching that perfect wave that has taken us to where we need to be,” said Tomson.
The impressive ring of surfboards drifting on the horizon attracted crowds of spectators who lined the cliffs and beach below. The moving display symbolised the life of a fellow surfer whose sheer passion changed the face of surfing forever. After paying their respects, surfers paddled back to the shore yet some remained in the water catching waves in memory of Jack.
The South Africa edition on Monday 10th July was hosted by global team rider and world no. 2 Jordy Smith who guided surfers out past the breaking waves of Jeffreys Bay.
Paying homage to Jack, pioneer, maverick and surfer, O’Neill also released a new film, I Knew Jack O’Neill. Detailing the story of the wetsuit and the first ‘surf shop,’ the mini documentary reveals Jack O’Neill’s life and adventures.
