I read an obituary in yesterday’s Manly Daily that took me back a few years to when I was a teenager surfing in the sixties – “Harry The Hat” (Fred Pentecost)passed away earlier this month, just short of his 83rd birthday.

I first met him out in the surf at Dee Why Point, wearing his distinctive floppy white hat, tied down with elastic (amazingly it seemed to stay on even after he’d roll under the biggest wave).  He was much older than me and my mates - nearly my dad’s age, which was unusual at the time.  You just didn’t find older guys out there on boards, travelling from beach to beach to find the best surf… Guys his age were in surf clubs (by then Snowy MacAlister had resorted to paddling a long surf ski).  Boardriding on the latest model malibu was for younger people (the old guys who are out there now, are mostly the ones who were young back then!). 

The hat showed that he definitely did not go for the cool look… No one else wore hats surfing!  He didn’t care – it kept the sun off his head. 

But he could surf, and he surfed  well.  So such uncommon features made you happy to talk to him.  Clearly he didn’t give a rats for convention, or appearances…   

He was always out there when it was big, and enjoyed surfing as much as I did.  Over a number of years of infrequent chatting with him while surfing at places from Narrabeen to DY, we found a couple of things in common to talk about… We didn’t know each other from work but both then worked at PMG Telecommunications - the Post Master General’s Department! … a very large organisation now called Telstra.  We lived for surfing on the weekend.  I was studying for an economics degree at university.  He’d done a science degree. 

So he became a person of some respect and a kind of role model to many younger surfers.  Not only could he surf well, but he had a mind, did not see the need to conform to anyone’s conventional thinking, and he was a nice guy.  He was a living example that such a combination was possible.

The Daily said he caught his last waves at the age of 78 at Byron, where he moved from Collaroy Plateau to be closer to his kids after his wife died.

I remember the last time I saw him.  It was at North Narrabeen, over 35 years ago – sunny day, nice surf, waving “see you later” as he paddled in.  I didn’t see him after that, as I moved to Avalon and surfed there.

Think about how many people that you meet in your life on an infrequent casual basis, that leave such a lasting favourable impression. 

See you later Fred… (not too soon I hope:) … Catch a few good ones up there in the meantime.

TG.