Surf Legend MIKE DOYLE Passed Away Yesterday

[magentawave]

Mike Doyle passed away yesterday morning at his home in Baja. He was 78.

I met the legend briefly on a windsurf / surf trip at San Carlos (Baja) back about 1990. After the first 7 hour drive from San Diego it was finally time to take the right at El Rosario and head towards the coast. It was my friends 4Runner so he always took the wheel for the last 1 1/2 hours. (I dreaded this part of the drive because he was a lunatic so it was white knuckles and praying to the baby Geezuz that we make it there alive. Plus, 4 windsurfers, 6 rigs, 2 surfboards and 2 bikes piled 5' high on the roof and drifting into a sideways slide at 65 on a crappy washboard mexie road added to the stress.)

Anywho, the first thing I saw when we pulled up was this dude blazing across the wall of a mast high right that I thought for sure was going to close out. But nope, the guy made it and continued surfing down around the point forever. We didn't know that was Mike Doyle at the moment, but I remember saying to my friend: "Damn, that guy has balls of steel!"

Later that day after my sesh I was walking back to our camp and saw the living legend sitting there having a beer while enjoying the beautiful sunset. This was a big deal to me because I had been seeing him in the surfing magazines since I was a kid. I wasn't a grom that day by any means, but I sure acted like one when I said: "Hey, you're living legend Mike Doyle, aren't you?" (Seriously. I actually said that. Hah, what a dork!)

Mike would have been 49 then and I had heard he had been living in San Jose, Baja. We chatted about life down there and he told me that he was on his way back to San Diego for a visit.

Super nice guy and really humble. That was the first and last time I saw him. There's a link to his Instagram account on the page below and there's lots of great stories to read there.

Rest in peace, Mike Doyle.

https://www.surfer.com/features/legendary-waterman-mike-doyle-passes-away-at-78/

[OUTSIDEWAVE]

Oh wow.  Sad to hear. I think he had a pretty good life. For many of us it is a wake  up call when the. Legends of our youth pass away. I’m 65   Rip mike Doyle

[Tom]

I too met Mike at San Carlos. It seemed crazy to be camping in the dirt next to a total rockstar. I saw him surfing at the  UCSD legends surf contest a few years ago and it was easy to pick out his style from a mile away.