Yancy Spencer, III, an owner and founder of Innerlight Surf & Sport in Gulf Breeze and three other locations, died of an apparent heart attack on February 14 while surfing in Malibu, California.
Spencer was regarded as the "father of surfing on the Gulf Coast." On Sunday, February 20, hundreds of surfers honored Spencer's memory and conducted a "paddle out" on Pensacola Beach just east of the pier. While the paddle out was going on in the water, others joined on the beach for a ceremony of thier own.