A Final Wave Good Bye

Bob Warry

After a long and courageous battle with cancer, my father passed away peacefully. While I feel a profound sense of loss, what gives me comfort is that I had a remarkable father in so many ways. I'm left with one final life lesson from him: love never dies. His love of the sea will always be with me.
To honour my Dad's memory and his love of the ocean, a paddle-out was held at Vazon. Jenny, myself, friends, family members and windsurfers turned out on the beach at Vazon on a windy Saturday morning to watch and join in with a group of surfers to pay him a spectacular tribute. One hundred  people gathered together on the sea wall and proceeded to watch about 60 surfers taking to their boards (some on old Blades that had been pulled out of dark corners of their garages) at 11 a.m to participate in the paddle-out, which is a traditional way of saying good-bye to a departed surfer. The surfers, in their appropriately dark-coloured wet suits, paddled out on their surf boards with flower leis around their necks or with loose flowers (sometimes held between their teeth to where the water was calm, and then joined hands to form a circle to say their goodbyes to a great pioneer of the sport, a few words of remembrance was said by myself before throwing carnations and roses into the middle. Once in a circle, we all clapped whistled and shouted. It was touching to see so many surfers and windsurfers of all ages celebrating Dad's life in true water man style. "I'm sure Dad was looking down in awe of all the love." It was "a total testimony to know that on this cold day over 100 people came out to pay tribute to him and his life and all he gave to the sport." Before the paddle-out, Kevin Hinshaw of the Guernsey Surf Club spoke about Bobs surfing life to the crowd on the beach. 
 He will truly be missed. Thank you to the Guernsey Surf Club,Windsurfing Guernsey and all that turned up..

Here's a report taken from the Museum of British Surfing:

Guernsey Surf Club are reporting the sad news that respected surfer-shaper Bob Warry has passed away. He was interviewed for The First Wave project & the surf museum has a couple of his lovely Blade surfboards - you can hear some of his interview on this link: http://www.thefirstwave.co.uk/surfers/bob-warry/ 
Interview with Richard Browning 14/05/13


Blade Surfboards by the late Bob Warry Guernsey
 Here are two of his boards from the 1970s donated to the Museum of British Surfing



club news letter releases

Guernsey Surf Club

Kevin Hinshaw
Guernsey Surf Club
with an old Blade Mal 

Dear members,
It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that the amazing Bob Warry passed away at 8.00 this morning.

Bob was a pioneer of surfing in Guernsey and the sport owes a great deal to him. He was a multiple Guernsey Surfing Champion, innovative board-builder, artist, wind-surfer, fisherman, seaman, craftsman and immensely talented individual.

 He loved everything about the sea and was a very capable person who was willing to share his immense knowledge in a quiet modest manner.

Bob was one of the top surfers in the UK throughout the mid 60's and he never lost 'the stoke'. We had the pleasure of surfing with him until he fell ill some months ago and he will be sorely missed by everyone at the beach.

Our thoughts are with his wife Phyllis, his son Phil and all of his family.

God bless you Bob

 Windsurfing Guernsey (GBSA)

Matt Le Poidevin (in yellow)
Guernsey Board sailing Association

 Many of you now may well have heard the sad news about the passing of Bob Warry. Bob was a pioneer firstly in surfing and then in about 1980 he took up windsurfing. He was undoubtedly one of the first to sail a short board in Europe and his pioneering attitude saw him shaping up windsurfing shortboards whilst the rest of the world was drifting around on Windsurfer Regattas. It was that head start that he gave us the help needed to put Guernsey on the windsurfing map. Within a few years the foundations of Guernsey windsurfing were firmly established with the likes of Clem Brouard, Phil Nicole, Simon Lovell, Mick Middleton and of course the boy Phil Warry all riding his creations and achieving notoriety beyond these shores. Bob was a modest man and unless you knew of his achievements you would never have guessed that he was one of, if not the greatest watermen that Guernsey has produced. He will be sadly missed, a great friend to many and as much best friend as a father to Phil and husband of Phyllis. Our thoughts are with the Warry family at this time.

RIP Bob.

More posts and tributes

Thinking this morning cemented the fact that Bob was a pioneer of Guernsey surfing and all of us sat out there today have him and his generation to thank for paving the way for us! Lets make sure we do the same for the next generation to come! His contribution will never be forgotten! RIP Bob....
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Never one to give a lot of respect when I was younger, this is a guy you had/ have to give respect to.
A great surfer right up until I last saw him in the water, an excellent shaper and restorer and sadly now a legend of the Guernsey surf scene!
RIP!..
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Yup. Agreed. Blade all the way as first board (last seen being battered to death on the groyns at Vazon where  Scott Ogier left it fearing for his life! Bob would have laughed, not at the loss of a great 7.0 single fin but at Scott for just making it to the steps alive.
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Bob was a great gentleman of the sea who had the ability to also design and craft beautiful weapons of the sea worthy of any art exhibition....he was also a pretty mean painter and raconter.
I am sure that I am not alone in saying that we will remember and miss him greatly....

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I had a great respect for Bob who I surfed and windsurfed with on many occasions. He also made me many fantastic blade boards. A truly great guy sadly missed...

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Well we were blessed with some of the best conditions of the year. I'd like to think Bob had some  doing in it. From the pictures it looked like a very fit memorial for such a wonderful man. Well done all. Despite the localism and petty squabbling seen nowadays in surfing. It's times like these that still prove surfers are still in a very special tribe. Look after each other people, it's what makes surfing magical...

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"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it."
Phil Warry

  I will miss the relationship we sheared with the ocean.. In a word. He brought to my life the FULL JOY that this passion we call the ocean has to offer

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