Justin Lee needed to go faster than he could have gone with pants on.
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His son Connor was turning on his first wave in the quarter final of an international surfing competition at Lennox Head earlier this week when his board snapped beneath him.
The 17-year-old from Redhead needed a fresh one - urgently.
Without missing a beat, Justin stripped naked in front of hundreds of people on the beach and jumped into the surf to take the spare board to his son, who was at the break almost 500 metres from shore.
But commentators pointed out over the loudspeaker that, under the rules, Connor had to swim to the beach and collect it himself.
So Justin turned around and waited on the sand for Connor - starkers in front of dozens of smart phone cameras that documented his attempt to help his son.
"The commentators said 'somebody, quick get him a board out there'," Justin told the Newcastle Herald.
"I just grabbed a board and went down the beach and thought 'I'm in my jeans', so I threw them off and paddled out. Then the commentators said [Connor] had to swim to shore. So I'm stranded on the beach, full nude with about 300 people.
"You can imagine how many people were up top with their phones out videoing me. It's pretty funny."
Connor, one of the region's best surfers, didn't make the semi final of the Skull Candy Pro Junior event - by the time he got back to the break with his spare board he'd lost most of the 20 minute quarter final time limit and needed a score of at least 9.7 to progress. He finished 13th in the event.
When asked whether he was bothered about the attention he was receiving for his naked paddle, Justin said: "Nah I don't really care mate, if anything it has helped my kid get a bit of publicity".
"I was going up the beach and everyone was going 'that was hilarious, that was the best thing I've ever seen," he said. "Everyone made me feel really comfortable."
Connor is ranked 19th on the World Surfing League Men's Junior Tour so far this year after seven events - with seventh being his best result on the tour in 2019.
He has quickly climbed in the tour rankings in recent years, finishing 117th in 2017 and 55th in 2018.
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