Greg Noll dropped in to the Heritage Museum in San Clemente, then at Hansen’s in Encinitas over the weekend. The reason was a book signing in conjuntion with the release of his new book: The Art of the Surfboard, written with Drew Kampion. Greg, his wife Laura, Drew Kampion, Jed Noll (Greg’s son) and a few women who I think were wives, were all there at the table.
Greg was very friendly and patient. I asked for a picture and he invited me behind the table and gave a big brudda hand shake. Drew and Jed had the same welcoming attitude. A bunch of nice people.
The book was exactly what I had hoped it would be: A respectful look at surf history with stories about some of the key people in surfing over the years. And lots of surfboards. I never realized how much he actually contributed to the surfboard building industry. And, of course, now him and Jed are making replicas of some of the ancient Hawaiian boards as well as art boards.
The guy in front of me in line wanted to say something funny, so when it was his turn to meet Greg, he handed him the book and said, “This is great, I finally get to meet Mike Doyle…oh, I mean Greg Noll.” Noll sort of chuckled and replied, “He was a much better surfer than I ever was.”
Anyway, this was one of life’s little highlights for me, and I highly recommend the book.
Doug