Offshoreonly.com - Tom Newby- Surfer Tom By Terry Tomlin Powerboat

Surfer Tom

Surfer, sailor, photographer, Tom Newby touched many lives.
The 50-year-old Manhattan Beach resident died Sept. 11, 2007, during a photo shoot on the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of in Sarasota, Florida.
The father of two lived his live on, under and over the water, earning his stripes as a true “waterman,” in the Hawaiian sense of the word.
Growing up, Newby was a regular at the South Bay breaks, forgoing traditional sports, to chase waves with gang of long-haired, bleached blonde water rats whom he called friends.
Newby learned to scuba dive at age fourteen, and four years later, he caught a ride on a 31-foot Ketch and sailed to Hawaii, where he polished his water skills and developed an undying love for all things aquatic.
After a brief stint as a boat captain/dive master/beach bum, Newby enrolled at the prestigious Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif. to perfect his photography and pick up some pointers from surfing great Tom Curren.
In 1993, Newby joined the team at Powerboat, a Ventura-based publication, that had long-been known as the magazine of record for the tight-knit performance boating industry.
Newby quickly earned the respect of racers, readers and manufacturers for technically-perfect photographs that captured the heart and soul of this adrenaline-driven sport.
Over the years, Newby shot more than 300,000 photos for the magazine, developing a cult following among those who like to drive fast. In his spare time he also shot catalogs and advertisements for everybody from car manufacturers to hamburger chains.
But despite a footlocker of various awards and honors, Newby believed his greatest accomplishment was his two sons, Wes, 12, and Will, 9. Newby accompanied his boys to countless Indian Guide campouts, swim meets and little league baseball games, where he cheerfully shared photos of his son’s teammates with other parents.
Newby and his sons recently returned from a barefoot sailing charter to Belize, where his boys got a chance to dive with their father for the first time.
A coffee aficionado and lover of fine wines, Newby was the ideal dinner companion, a man who could wax poetic and shut up and listen.
News of Newby’s untimely death spread like a Southern California wildfire through the chat rooms and web sites, frequented by those in the boating community.
Descriptions such as “great guy,” “class act” and “consummate professional” were mentioned more than once.
He will be missed by his two sons, wife Jill, mother Doris, sister Jennifer, colleagues at Powerboat, friends on Manhattan Beach, as well as thousands of offshore enthusiasts who lived vicariously through his photographs.

Terry Tomalin