Hawaii is in mourning over the death of a legendary local surf photographer, but his loved ones find solace in witnessing some of his final moments documented on video.
On Thursday, February 9, 2023, Haynes was on his way to surf at Laniakea, Stab Magazine writes when he suffered a heart attack in his car.
Larry Haynes died unexpectedly following a surfing session on Thursday, just weeks after filming water images at the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational.
On Sunday, his friends and family discovered the final moments of his life, which Haynes had recorded on camera. It was sheer joy to see him doing what he loved.
"This is it. He had an amazing life right up until the end. "He couldn't have crammed any more into his life than he did," said Haynes' friend Brian Bielmann.
For 35 years, Haynes was a surf photographer recognized for his bravery and athleticism in the face of large waves.
In fact, just hours before his death, he was shooting at the Banzai Pipeline Hawaii in Ehukai Beach Park.
Lifeguards contacted Bielmann to collect Haynes' board and return it to his family. He discovered a GoPro camera on the paddle that captured the closing moments of Haynes' amazing life.
“I went down and got it this morning and immediately took it home and went on the computer,” Bielmann said. “There must have been 40 files, and we looked through all of them. And, then, he had a lot of, like, non-start type waves and over and over and finally caught this beautiful wave and rode it for a long time. And, by the end of it, we were cheering and yelling and crying — the whole everything.”
“It’s really cool. In the footage as well because he gets his wave and right before he turns off the camera he had this Larry smile that we all knew from him,” Prickett said. “I was like, that’s what made me start crying.”
A poetic way for him to go — capturing the magic in the water as he did during this year’s Eddie.
This article on the difference between a heart attack from cardiac arrest should give us an idea of how to distinguish between the two.
Learn, Enjoy, and Save Life. Healthforce Training Center offers CPR Training and certifications such as Basic Life Support (BLS), Advance Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advance Life Support (PALS), CPR AED, Pediatric First Aid CPR AED, and First Aid CPR AED.
Read more of our blogs.