Come celebrate the life of Nick Dipietro in a paddle-out on Saturday, April 27th at 10:00 am on the north side of the Jacksonville Beach Pier.

By Steve Morgan

Nick Dipietro was born on February 28, 1974, in New Jersey. Thanks to his father’s career with the Navy, the Dipietro family moved to the Philippines right about the time Nick was entering high school. In addition to opening Nick’s eyes to world travel, it was here on the remote beaches of this archipelago in the Pacific Ocean that he was groomed to be the great surfer that he was.

In 1995, the Dipietro family made another move when his father, Rich, took a job here in Jacksonville, Florida as a Navy contractor. Due to Nick’s outgoing and charismatic personality, he was quickly accepted by the local surfing community. Not only was he a good surfer, but Nick was also known for somehow having the stamina to stay out all day long. He would be one of the first in the water at sunrise, and then after a quick retreat to the Poles parking lot for some gas station snacks- something else that he was known for- he would be back out in the surf until sundown.

Like many of us, Nick had a passion for surfing and was constantly on the search for good waves.

Nick was all heart. Although he loved his large collection of surfboards- he was the ultimate VIP at Sunrise Surf Shop- he was notorious for giving them to young kids in any given town that he traveled. There have to be 15-20 boards with his name on the bottom scattered across Latin America.

In 2008, Nick left Jacksonville and moved to the warmer waters of South Florida to pursue a career in the yachting and sportfish industry. It didn’t take long for him to get noticed in the marinas for his hard work and quick wit; boat owners and their captains loved having Nick around. This enabled him to get jobs on some of the biggest and best boats in town. Winters were spent based out of South Beach, Miami, but included multiple first-class trips to the Caribbean. As the East Coast began to warm up in the Spring, the boats would make their way up to the Hamptons or Montauk, New York.

Many would say that he was “living the dream”, and he was.

While retiring for the night after an evening out with friends in South Beach on Sunday, December 9th, 2018,
Nick had a tragic accident that unfortunately took his life a few days later. The world lost a great person, we all lost a dear friend.

Please celebrate the life of Nick Dipietro with us in a paddle-out on Saturday, April 27th at 10:00 am on the north side of the Jacksonville Beach Pier. It doesn’t matter if the waves are 1 foot or overheard, Nick would be out there. This is how we would like to send him off.

CLICK BELOW FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE PADDLE OUT FOR NICK