Friends Mourn Champion Surfer Joe Roland After Tragic Death

On Thursday, November 7th, Joe Roland was surfing Ponte Vedra Beach, south of Jacksonville, Florida, when he died from unknown causes. He was 73 years old.

According to authorities, no foul play was suspected, nor was there evidence of a shark attack.

Following the tragedy, friends, family, and the local surf community came out to praise their fallen brethren. But first of all, here’s a little background on Roland, via East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame, which the late surfer was inducted into in 1998:

“Roland began riding waves in 1964 at the age of 13, paying for his first board with the small change he made washing cars in North Florida’s Atlantic Beach. Tall, slender, and light-footed on the board, Roland became known as a skilled noserider, nimbly perching on the nose and never stepping back — a smooth style that drew frequent comparisons to California style-master David Nuuhiwa.

“When the Eastern Surfing Association (ESA) debuted its elite 4A division, it was studded with such internationally known East Coast surfers as Mike Tabeling, Claude Codgen and Gary Propper. Following his breakout success there, Roland was made captain of the East Coast Surf Team for the 1968 World Surfing Championships in Puerto Rico, and earned a feature in Surfing magazine’s February 1969 issue. Later that same year, he again took home first place at the East Coast Surfing Championships (ECSC) in Virginia Beach and was a finalist in the small wave division of the 1969 Peru International. 

“Not long after Roland’s ECSC win, he began to pick up sponsorships from Weber, Rick Surfboards, and Hansen — soon designing and debuting a Joe Roland signature board through Hansen Surfboards.”