JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Friends of a legendary surfer credited for putting Jacksonville on the map are sharing his story.
Joe Roland, who was inducted into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame, died Thursday after being found on Ponte Vedra Beach with his surfboard still attached to him, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
Lifelong friends of Roland said he was a surfing legend, but he was also so much more.
“I met Joe when I was 17,” said Chris Prescott.
Prescott and Roland's friendship was kindled from the love of a sport and it lasted a lifetime.
“He asked me if I knew how to play the guitar and I did, actually,” Prescott said.
Prescott taught his friend Roland how to play his first chords on the guitar. Roland taught the world how to take surfing to the next level.
“That took it way beyond where it ever had gone before," Prescott said about Roland. "Boards were changed, the way they made them, to fit what he was doing. People followed Joe.”
At age 17, Roland was captain of the East Coast Surf Team for the 1968 World Surfing Championships, according to East Coast Surfing. This was only one of the world championships he surfed in. Roland was inducted into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame in 1998.
Prescott called Roland “legendary,” but said that title extends past his surfing.
“The most amazing athlete in the water in our era," Prescott said. "But the man who was a very good father, a great husband, a fantastic spiritual leader and someone who you could trust and be there for you anytime you needed him. I think that’s what we need to really dwell on.”
Roland's friends said the surfing community plans to do a “paddle out” for Roland to honor him.