Thousands Gather In Pensacola Beach, FL,
For Yancy Spencer III Memorial Paddle-Out By
Nick McGregor; Photos by Nik McCue
Sunday,
February 20th dawned as beautiful as could be for the Gulf Coast in mid-winter.
The sun shone brightly. The waters around Pensacola Beach Pier were clear as
ever, with tiny little one-foot waves peeling softly to shore. And the beach
was packed to the gills with surfers of all ages, genders, classes, and
sub-niches, all on hand to pay tribute to Gulf Coast legend Yancy Spencer III,
who passed away on February 14th from a heart attack suffered after day
of surfing in Southern California.
The
after-effects of that tragedy will be felt for some time along the Florida
Panhandle, but on Sunday, it was all about the love for Yancy Spencer III and
his family, including wife Lydia, daughter Abigail, and sons Yancy IV and
Sterling. Fellow Pensacola High Class of ’68 alum Perry Stephens played
“Amazing Grace” on bagpipes. YSIII’s brother Rev. John Spencer gave a brief
speech and encouraged others to share their memories. California legend Skip
Frye called in via loudspeaker. Thousands of flowers were dropped into the
ocean, where Yancy would want his memory to linger. Water was splashed to
commemorate his legacy, before everyone slowly made their way to the beach,
some riding the tiny ankle-slappers on offer.
“Anywhere
else, people would say that’s not surf,” Yancy Spencer IV told the Pensacola
News-Journal. “But not my dad. He knew that was good surf… Dad would stand out
there and ride all day.” And we all know that YSIII will keep riding those
waves forever…
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