How to become a Super Girl
The spray is still clearing from Oceanside’s Super Girl Surf Pro, where San Clemente’s 15-year-old Eden Walla smashed her way into the big leagues by...
Waterspot
Pulling weeds and other assumptions
While my paddle muscles weaken, my fingers are getting stronger. That’s because these days I write about surfing more than I participate in it. Especially...
Only a surfer knows the feeling
In the early 1960s, surfing formed a bridge between beatniks and hippies. While equally significant culturally as the aforementioned groups, surfing continues to be viewed...
Jock-o, hero and friend
The first Mr. Pipeline was a La Jolla surfer named Butch Van Artsdalen. He earned the title by consistently stuffing 10 feet of surfboard into...
Dale ‘Double D’ Dobson made stance switching look easy
I first became aware of Dale Dobson in the late 1960s when he ripped through heats like hot butter. Not only was his surfing faster...
On the rocks
It’s been a mere three decades since I did a story for the LA Times on beach rocks, you know, those rolling stones that became...
Summertime … and the livin’ is easy
I never paid much attention in school, but I did study a lot about the waves and the weather. I say study, but it was...
Is reggae surf music?
It’s been over 18 years since Michael Bream, Bruce Logan and I drove to the Hollywood Hills where I would interview Ziggy Marley. Bream is...
The evolution of ding repair
I recently performed a wedding for my good friend Jon Montague. There were quite a few surfers in the crowd, so I decided to offer...
Not just another gremmie
The only time I surfed big Windansea was during the legendary southwest swell of ’75. Butch Van Artsdalen had long since moved to the Islands,...
The pain and joy of shorebreaks
I learned to surf by staying as close to shore as possible. For an inexperienced ocean swimmer, that seemed like the safest option. In reality,...
Seeking solitude
While some surfers interact well at celebrations, many others are socially awkward introverts. Perhaps that’s because surfing is, at its core, an individual activity where...
The life and death of Hot Curl
Mike Dormer was a Windansea surfer and the artist who first drew a cartoon strip that would one day morph into a statue called Hot...
Shark Week comes home
I began surfing in 1962 and since have spent more time in the ocean than any other recreational facility. Like most of you reading this,...