Who was Jay Moriarity?

Jay Moriarity (June 16, 1978–June 15, 2001) was a surfer from Santa Cruz, California. He was an accomplished surfer, waterman, and adventurer. As a surfer, he made his reputation surfing Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California. At age 16, he was made internationally famous when his wipeout at Mavericks was caught on film and made the cover of Surfer (magazine). Four days later at Mavericks, on a smaller wave, legendary Hawaiian big wave surfer Mark Foo drowned. Although a successful competitor, Jay is remembered as a soul surfer, winning many sportsmanship awards throughout his career.

Life of Jay Moriarity

Born in Georgia in 1978, Moriarity and his family moved to Santa Cruz, California, soon after his birth. His father was Green Beret parachutist and a surfer, who introduced his son to surfing when he was 9 years-old. He immediately took to surfing and quickly became a respected surfer in Santa Cruz. 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 he began surfing Mavericks at 16 years of age, and soon became a respected regular in the line-up. He died on June 15, 2001, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of the island Lohifushi in the Maldives, drowning in an apparent diving accident. In Lohifushi for an O'Neill photo shoot, he went free-diving with members of the Brazilian crew but was not seen after. Details of his death are uncertain but he was reported to have gone farther down the buoy rope than the others, practicing his breath holding and meditating on the ocean floor 45 feet below the surface. His body was recovered later that evening on the surface near the dive site. In 2001, Moriarity co-authored a book with Chris Gallagher entitled, The Ultimate Guide to Surfing. A film, "Chasing Mavericks" directed by Curtis Hanson chronicling the life of Jay has an estimated release date of October 26, 2012. Jonny Weston will be playing the roll of Jay.