March 29th 2022: RIP: The King of PK Bay

Sadly the surfing community of Otago and New Zealand has been rocked yet again, this time with the passing of one of our most loved and most respected surfers, Jamie Civil.

Jamie was a standout on those days when the waves broke from top to bottom and lesser men struggled to even paddle into the lineup. He was the king of PK Bay – a wave that is among the most intense in New Zealand – on its day, our version of Pipeline. Certainly that’s how Jamie described it. Above everyone else he had mastered that wave and he did it on his backhand. He’d slide into the most warping waves I have seen come through and he’d casually stand tall in the barrel to take in a view that most of us will never see.

The conditions of Saturday, March 26, would have been on his radar for weeks. A long-period east swell packed full of promise along Dunedin's North Coast. It was the exact conditions that Jamie lived for. And he knew it was something special as he got barreled off one of the bigger peaks near where the Herb and Paro surf comp was being held at Aramoana.

But something went wrong that afternoon. After riding a set wave barrel and not making the exit, Jamie’s board was left tombstoning like a frantic call for help. He was swiftly reached and pulled from the water unconscious where a group of six took turns administering CPR with a medical doctor quickly on the scene, followed by a defibrillator. But nothing was able to save him.

There are no answers as to why this has happened to one of our most loved, most humble and most inspiring surfers. Just despair and heartbreak fill the void for the many, many lives he has touched.

Jamie leaves behind his partner Courtney and their six-month-old daughter Lenni. We’re asking for your help to at least ease the financial burden they will face by donating to their Givealittle Page.

Our love and thoughts are with Courtney, Lenni, Tash, Homa, all the surfers at the beach that day who tried desperately to save our friend and to all Jamie's friends and family throughout the world.

Take care, hug your loved ones ... Derek

PS We’ve been up in Christchurch for the South Island Grom Series Round 3 this past weekend, which copped the same east swell that Dunedin's north coast did. Some of the pictures in today’s report are from there. Stay safe.