Jay Moriarity (June 16, 1978 – June 15, 2001) was a surfer from

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

. He was an accomplished surfer, waterman, and adventurer. As a surfer, he made his reputation surfing

Mavericks Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...

Half Moon Bay, California Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 as of the 2020 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is Pillar Point Harbor and the un ...

. At age 16, he was made internationally famous when his wipeout at Mavericks was caught on film and made the cover of '' Surfer'' magazine. Although a successful competitor, Jay is remembered as a

soul surfer A soul surfer (term invented during the 1960s) is a surfer who surfs for the sheer pleasure of surfing. Although they may still enter competitions, winning is not the soul surfer's main motive, since they scorn the commercialization of surfing. T ...

, winning many sportsmanship awards throughout his career. A biopic of his life, ''

Chasing Mavericks ''Chasing Mavericks'' is a 2012 American biographical drama film about the life of American surfer Jay Moriarity (portrayed by Jonny Weston). It was directed by Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted, and stars Gerard Butler, Elisabeth Shue, Abigail S ...

'', was released in 2012.

Life

Born in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

on June 16, 1978, Jay and his family moved to

, when he was just a baby. His father was an army ranger and traveled most of the time. Jay began surfing at age 9 and rode his first waves at Sewer Peak. Not limited to either a shortboard or a longboard, he was known as a versatile surfer who appreciated all aspects of surfing. This appreciation was rooted in an overall love for the ocean, seen in his accomplishments as a swimmer, paddler, diver, and fisherman. Achieving success in surfing as a youngster, he became increasingly interested in surfing Mavericks, north of Santa Cruz in Half Moon Bay. After intense physical and mental training with his master, close friend and Mavericks regular Frosty Hesson, Jay began surfing Mavericks at just 15 years of age, and soon became a respected regular in the line-up. In 2001, Moriarity co-authored a book with Chris Gallagher entitled, ''The Ultimate Guide to Surfing''. A film, ''

'', directed by

Curtis Hanson Curtis Lee Hanson (March 24, 1945 – September 20, 2016) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His directing work included the psychological thriller ''The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (film), The Hand That Rocks the Cradle' ...

, chronicling the life of Moriarity was released on October 26, 2012, with

Jonny Weston Jonny Weston (born June 16, 1988) is an American actor. He starred as real-life surfer Jay Moriarity in the 2012 film ''Chasing Mavericks'' and as brainy high school student David Raskin in the 2015 time-travel adventure ''Project Almanac''. He ...

playing the role of Moriarity.Deadline :Gerard Butler Set For Walden Media Surf Pic 'Mavericks'
so Chasing-mavericks-2012

Moriarity died a day before his 23rd birthday on Friday, June 15, 2001, in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

off the coast of the island Lohifushi in the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

, drowning in a freediving accident. Moriarity was in Lohifushi for an

O'Neill The O'Neill dynasty (Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin, that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically the most prominent family of the Northern ...

photo shoot, went

free-diving Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear. Besides the limits of breath-h ...

alone and was not seen after. A search party recovered his body late Friday night. Moriarity left behind his wife Kim Moriarity, his mother Kristy, father Doug, sister Daniela, brother Sean, and five nephews and nieces.

Memorial Paddleboard Race

Moriarity has an annual

paddleboard Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. This article refers to traditional prone or kneel ...

race in his memory, the annual Jay Moriarity Paddleboard Race aka "The Jay Race" is held in Capitola. After his death a memorial was held for him at Pleasure Point. All of Jay's family, friends, his wife, Kim, and mentor Frosty, attended.

References

External links

Jay Moriarity Memorial Paddleboard Race

Frosty Hesson describes coaching Jay Moriarity to surf Maverick's.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moriarity, Jay 1978 births 2001 deaths American surfers Sportspeople from Augusta, Georgia Deaths by drowning Accidental deaths in the Maldives Sportspeople from Santa Cruz, California People from Half Moon Bay, California

Life

Memorial Paddleboard Race

See also

References

External links