…in 1966, during a two day 8 foot swell, that Jim Arness came to Windansea. Among the events that occurred that weekend, was that Jim Fisher and I borrowed Arness’s 12 foot plus surfboard, and rode it tandem on an 8 foot left, making several turns. The best part was on Sunday, after a good morning session, Arness asked if there was a good place to get a breakfast. We told him about Harry’s Coffee Shop, something of a La Jolla institution. Growing impatient with our attempts at giving directions, Arness said, ‘‘Come on guys, get in the car, and show me where it is.’’ So off we went to Harry’s, Jim Fisher, myself, and Pat Crampton, for an epic breakfast with Jim Arness. One later result of that event, was our near ‘‘star stature’’ with the staff at Harry’s, for several years after. Arness came across as a regular guy. Very gregarious, easy to have a conversation with. I bumped into him two years later, on the beach at Makaha, and was flattered that he remembered that weekend of surfing Windansea with us. He was unlike what we are led to expect Hollywood notables to be. As I said, a regular guy.
1973, had flown into La Paz with a friend early September back when Hwy1 wasn’t paved from the border, hitched rides to the tip, set up camp in front of a fun right reef. Surfed, dove couple of times a day with a sling for fresh fish, hitch into San Jose, then a sleepy little town, every couple days day for ice and food.
Second week there, a young guy around 20 or so and a younger kid, both gringo blondes, obvious brothers, show up in the break.
Older brother is a fluid master, stylish and deep. Friendly, reserved. Would see them coming and going from the Hilton hotel on the point, an old school sprawling single story Hacienda style with private single story cabanas for their rich guests, where stars like Clark Gable and Frank Sinatra used to stay. The hotel was closed for Chubasco season, as they all did back in the day, so didn’t make much sense.
One late afternoon I’m getting ready to go hunting for food, the older brother comes down with a snorkel outfit, explains he’s never free dove before, wondered if he could go out with me. Turned out to be a natural. I banged some fish, handed him my sling, he nailed a nice one. Tell him to come by for dinner after the evening surf session, we’ll cook them up.
He shows up with a stryofoam cooler of cold beers, gives thanks for the dive lesson, starts loosening up over beers and fire cooked fish. Turns out to be Davey Hilton down with his brother Danny, and was moving under the radar for obvious reasons. Hotel was running staff just for him and his brother.
Told stories about growing up with Rolf Arness, surfing the ranch together, flying into upper Baja with Rolf and his pop Jim on a professionaly piloted Cessna rigged for beach landings, surfing reefs and points inaccessible by truck, spend a couple of nights on the beach, surf their brains out, fly home. Said Jim , aka Marshall Dillion, was more surf stoked then you could imagine.
Couple days later a black Lear jet circles overhead a few times, then lands on the private runway maintained for the Hilton, a large gold H on it’s tail assembly. An hour later an eye-popping cutie in a string bikini wanders down ffrom the hotel, turns out to be his girl friend who came down with the jet. Davey says time to go home to get his brother ready for school, he had already graduated Pepperdine earlier in the year at the age of 20. Asked him what his plans were. Said he was heading to France with Reno Abelliera for the fall surf, and deal was he could do anything he wanted until he was 30, then had to go into the family business. Later heard he was running a Hilton on the Gold Coast, then HI, then settled down on the west coast help running the entire empire.
Nicest guy you could imagine, not a trace of arrogance or entitlement. He had no idea that from my perspective, he was from another planet…
Yes, I’ve had more than my share. But, the best of them, are back in the day. Currently not surfing that much, but doing a lot of varied shaping projects. Next up will be a 9 foot performance board, for an extremely experienced surfer. I’m just waiting for the current heat wave to pass, so I don’t wilt and keel over. Interestingly, the customer wants it to be a single fin, and asked if I would recommend a thick fin. Hell yeah ! I love it when a customer has an understanding about surfboard dynamics.
I started surfing there in 1955, one year after Simmons death. I had no idea who Bob Simmons was, or his place in surfing history at that time. What made it spooky was that a SURFER had drowned! Surfers just aren’t supposed to drown. So, yes, in that first year of surfing there, there was an edgyness every time you went in the water. At least it was for me. I was 14 years old. The local scene, in those days, was a tough nut to crack. It took me a couple of years.
Icc Davy Hilton stole my girlfriend ! back around 1973 or 4 sigh, She was great tall, beautiful a good surfer and an excellent Photographer.
ouch…the gal who showed up was tall, blonde, total fox.
hardly a level playing field when competing against a blonde Wonderboy named Hilton.
I hired a materials manager back in the mid 90’s who had done the same thing at the Hilton Las Vegas for years. I took him to lunch soon after he started, we drove in my conversion van. He noticed the surfboards behind the seats and asked if I had ever heard of a surfer named Davey Hilton, who he had reported to during a two year hitch when Davey ran the Hilton LV. Said Davey regularly flew out when 'the swell was up", and apparently his other hobby was dating the hottest showgirls in town.
lucky bastard…
I have been friends with Dave since grammar school. I ran an early morning sales route in Santa Barbara, out of Ventura from 75 to 89. I would call Dave in Vegas every morning that Rincon was overhead and he’d catch the 6AM flight to LA and be out in the water at Rincon by 9. He still is one of the best surfers to ever come out of California and at 62, is still as hard core as they come… and yes, he still tries to stay “under the radar”
After all these years, I’m not so ashamed of myself.
“In the day” being a mostly a lazy point surfer, I got my ass kicked by Davy and his pal Bunker in a Santa Monica WSA contest
Eh, after that, I was on a mission.
Cool guy, from the Hobie skateboard team and today!
you can find Dave at Topanga every morning at 7:00 throwing tennis balls to his golden retriever( Unless there is a swell running and he is chasing surf north. Otherwise he is out during the tide push anytime that Topanga has waves.
why live in the past? Yesterday nobody else out except me and the pelicans. 80 dgree water and all you can handle. Wish I was…naw it is all good.
next time you see Dave, tell him Lance says hello from his Baja trip with Danny decades ago
and still chuckle when I recall finding him parked on the beach down from the old Hilton,
posed over the open engine compartment of the new truck he had driven down, looking perplexed
wondering where to pour in the can of ATF he was holding in his hand
because the check engine oil light had come on…lol
must have been his light blue and white silverado, he had that one for years . In that first article on rattlers, where Dan Merkel and Bruce Raymond coined the name scorpion bay, there is a spread shot of third point with Daves silverado parked on the bluff.