Hi sharkcountry paddling around made much more sense when you had no leash .
You know the coolest old surfer I knew was my dad, even though he didn’t surf with a board. He loved the ocean and taught us all about it. He loved his Nanakuli beach, and skimming along the sand on his belly as the water receeded. Kinda like what we did with skim boards, but he did it on his belly. It was hard thing to learn and I never had the patience to learn because mistakes were costly. He used to take us out on an aluminum row boat and catch waves. That’s where I learned how to ride waves in a row boat. My cousin Matt and I would take out a small fiberglass dingy and do the same thing. We often got swamped and had to get to the shallow water to empty out the dingy and go right back out. After I dinged up my Dextra pop out so badly he fixed it up and then he painted it and added a big Primo Beer profile of Kamehameha. He was artistically talented, and when he was in school in the '30s won an island wide contest for the US Postal service. He made a painting of an old clipper sea plane and had the words Wings over America. That won him a trip to another island on those old sea planes. Around 1970 dad bought a 2 man canoe and we used to surf with that. We had a blast riding waves at Shark Country for several years until my sister and cousin broke one of the iakos in a bad wipe out. One time dad took us down to check on the beach house when a hurricane was passing south of the islands. The waves were up and he let me go out and surf, I thought that was a cool thing he did. That was the first hurricane swell I surfed, but not the last. My dad was a great guy and I miss him dearly.
sharkcountry,
Great story! Popz are the best eh?
My Popz would take me to the beach and say “go surf” and read a book or fish. Didn’t know surfing at all. Not even a “keep the pointy end out”.
I’m a mainlander but the stories here been a joy for me and started thinking of Hawaii my hiwahiwa Kauai.
and a secret spot and a special man, a sweet soul who in the leashless days would push a haole his board off the reef.
My family later learned his aloha.
Uncle Merlin
I had 2 calabash uncles who were a part of our extended Shark Country family, Uncle Marcus Rosehill and Uncle Bill Mattson. They were both old time Waikiki surfers, and were instrumental in teaching us kids how to surf. Uncle Bill used to make all his and his kids surfboards. He was a big man and he had a 12’ board. His son Matt and I would carry that thing down to the water and tandem ride it. We could catch swells and be on them way before they broke. They were both full on watermen and great fishermen. Dad loved going fishing with them on Uncle Marcus’ brother Walter’s boat. They’d go out for the weekend, and be gone for at least 2 days, mostly to the north to Molokai. A third member of our beach ohana was Uncle Ted Farm. He surfed back in the day, but I don’t think he surfed after the late 60’s. He lived on the beach at Shark Country for more than 50 years, and no one knew that stretch of water better than him. He knew every living thing to gather for food, and was very good at getting it. He was also a jack of all trades, and was very good at fixing or making just about anything. his house was the gathering place at Shark Country and everyone who surfed there from the 60’s on through 2004 knew who he was.
This generation was the second generation of the Shark Country Ohana. Uncle Bill’s aunt owned the home he stayed in over the weekends whenever she wasn’t there. Uncle Ted bought his home from it’s original owner in the 60’s. Dad’s uncle owned the home between those two, and he was asked to take care of it after we returned home from being in the service. Uncle Marcus was Uncle Ted’s brother in law. We often had the first generation, our kupuna with us down at the beach as well including Uncle Ted and Marcus’ parents.
We gathered at Shark Country every weekend to fish and play in the ocean and after we had a feast courtesy of our moms, the guitars and ukuleles would come out and there would be music and laughter into the night.
Uncle Marcus was the first go, then Uncle Bill, then Uncle Ted, then Dad and finally Uncle Walter. Today my generation are the parents, the uncles and aunties, and in some cases the grandparents. I hope one day someone will say that they knew the cool old timer they used to surf with and be talking about me. That would be an honor.
Ed “Blackie” Hoffman. Tough as they came never back down from a fight or a wave first rate SOB until you got to know him. Cancer beat old Ed. He was sitting in his car on a perfect California November day staring at the waves. I stopped and said Hi. He said “you know what I am going to miss?.. That” as he pointed at the perfect waves and sunny day in front of him. That was the last time I talked to Ed.
Aloha Ace,
I did alot of surfing with Blackie, Mouse, and Jim Fisher, when Jim moved from La Jolla to OB. Lot of waves at the Cliffs, mostly @ North Garbage. I wonder if his cancer was a result of his time in the Army. He was involved in a chemical warefare unit. Told me lots of interesting things about it, when we’d talk story. I even shaped a board (a reshape) for his then wife Devon. He was an easy guy to like. A man’s man, as the expression goes.
Bill
Ed had the stories. Being a kid with those guys at North Garbage BEFORE the stairs on a big winter day no leash no wetsuits was a big deal to me…His drinking did not help him to much. great guy before noon. A real ASSH"$# with a heart of gold.
Several years ago, I was fortunate to meet the original Ewa Beach Surf Club members when they celebrated their 50 anniversary. Jim Phillips came down to the re-union as an honorary member.
Last week a couple of the early EBSC crew, and a few younger ones won their age groups in the China Longboard contest. In this photo, we have from left to right ?, Mel Behasa, Glenn Rayno, Mike Gionson and Jon Okamura. Mel is a talented board builder living in Kona, Jon moved to Makakilo, but the rest are still living in EB. Jon grew up on the beach at Shark Country.
Mel, Mike and Glenn are still charging and are all in their 60’s.
Lots of guys. Some gone. Some still hanging on by a slender thread. Uncle Rabbit under an EZ-UP at a Queens contest. Great stories from him and da boys. Surfed with Buf at Makaha. Dale Velzy came to mind immediatly. DT and Hynson. Met a classic Dora in a ding repair deal once. But my favorites are the ones few people have heard of. JG, Whitey, Pismo Robert, They’re all old now (or dead). Lowel
The most “classic” guy still around is Bob “Ole” Olson. Whatta guy. The whole crew up at Pauwela represents enough material for a book. Lowel
So envious of all these great memories & some of the characters involved. I surfed all round Scotland in my late teens & through my 20’s barely ever meeting another soul. Was over 10 years before i met other kindred spirits in the water on surfboards! My school pals thought i was nuts & just dreaming up these monster cold water slabs. Although my family were all boatbuilders & someone was always looking out for me then. Now i go out regular with a close group of pals & the surf scene over here is really growing now, although i know enough of the remote places to still get a solo surf, which i prefer. Enjoyed reading this thread loads, many thanks Slanj
Jack Cantrell and all his aloha at Mary’s. Always welcoming.
Kit Horn talking outlines to a dopey kid on the pier in Malibu.
My brother on mats at Zuma.
About 1988 or '89 my buddy and I had the roof racks come off the car on the way from Pensacola to East Coast. Boards were damaged, but not destroyed.
Once we made it to Jacksonville I found a glass shop and just showed up asking if I could repair our boards there. Guys name was Donald Nutt?? Shop was
“A1A Glassing”. He was super cool and let some dopey kid (me) fumble around his place for an afternoon.
One thing that stood out was he had freakin awesome ventilation/airflow throughout the whole place. Ending up in the sanding room… felt like 15 mph wind in there. When you hit a board with a grinder, you could barely see any dust.
Anyhoo… always remember that and thought he was an awesome guy. The end.
P.S. I think we made that trip for Hurricane Bertha!
One of my very favorites, Fred Windisch passed away far too soon. Huge man with a huge walrus mustache that matched his personality. Used to pick me up as a kid hitchhiking to the surf. produced one of the earliest ‘short board’ revolution movies, the Natural Art, a superb film that well showcased both the times and the NorCal surf. His photographs of the SF Bay Area surf scene captured it to the bone.
Alex Matienzo, always up, always in charge, roamed the NorCal coast looking for surf when most sticked at their local, often with Joanie Weston, an extremely rare at the time and highly enthusiastic gal surfer also known as the Blond Bomber, as she was the captain of the womens roller derby team The Bay Area Bombers. Alex surfed Mavericks on small days long before Jeff Clark was ever born, and his dog was named Mavericks. The dog followed him out to the break one day, hence the name. Somehow this has gotten twisted to where it was Jeff’s dog. Only Jeff never had a dog. Alex passed a couple of years ago.
Dick Keating. Old school waterman. Superb surfer, shaper, diver, fisherman, boat builder, prankster. Thought highly enough he was invited to the first Duke contest back in the day where he placed. The knowledge about surfing and surfboards that he passed on to this young kook will always be appreciated. Hopefully still with us for many years to come.
Jack O’Neil. Easy to pass him over, mostly known for being the wetsuit King. Misses the reality of how much he loved to surf, and how innovative he really was. Bought my first wetsuit vest from him in 1963 at the little shop he had alongside the Great Highway in SF. Jack’s contribution to cold water surfers cannot be over emphasized enough.
and others. Just characters that stood out from the rest, whether because of their outsized personalities, overly abundant talent, or because of accomplishments that few could match. They made surfing what it was. A bitchen thing to do with other bitchen folks.
Sadly, the core continues to shrink, and surfing continues to move closer to sport, every time yet another elder paddles over who understands that the act of surfing is just part of the art of being a surfer…