Before I wish any of you a Happy New Year, let me acknowledge that I realize many of us are not so much looking forward to a happy 2026, as we are leaving behind the sadness of 2025. Together we mourned the loss of Richard “RC” Corte, Dale Dobson, Mike Hynson, Gage Clisby and Denise Tudor.
I didn’t know Gage well enough to say anything more than that he was a brilliant musician and waterman, an all-around wonderful human being, and that he will be missed by all who knew him.
I knew RC better. Well enough to depend on him being seated on the Swami’s rocks, book in hand, waiting for the tide to change. RC was not the greatest surfer, but he had the greatest attitude. Every day at Swami’s was opening day to him.
Dobson was possibly the most naturally gifted surfer I have ever seen — a top-10 wave artist beginning in the early ’60s, and holding stride until well into the 2000s. Dale is among the half-dozen surfers who helped bring longboarding back into style. For that alone, he will be missed.
Hynson was an A-team surfer even before his co-starring role in “The Endless Summer.” As a board builder, he ranks among the world’s most progressive, his biggest contribution being the introduction of down rails, something as significant in surfing as the urethane wheel is to skateboarding.
Denise Tudor was the wife of Joe Tudor, and the mother to two of Cardiff’s finest riders, Joel and Josh. She was also the grandmother to Tosh, Judah, Wyatt and Sutton Tudor. But she was more than that. While the only member of the Tudor family not to be a surfer, Denise was like a den mother, confessor and patron saint to countless wayward surfers.
I sometimes sat on the beach with her for hours, philosophizing on topics like what the Christian response should be to increasing crowds in the lineup. Regardless of the topic, Denise always had an answer we could live with.
For every loss there is a gain, and I am glad to see new crews of surfers enjoying our local lineups as much as we ever did.
Of course, New Year’s wouldn’t be New Year’s without resolutions. My average for keeping resolutions is about 25%, and last year was little different. In 2025, I managed to bring two items over the finish line. One was learning the basics of shiatsu, the other was completing the book, “Windansea: Life. Death. Resurrection.” The failed 75% includes not learning Spanish, not finishing Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” not learning to play the flute, not surfing as much as I planned, and not getting another year older.
Please don’t hold me to any of these, but here I go making resolutions again. In 2026, I will publish my new book, “Good Things Love Water.” I will surf more and complain about crowds less. I will get into the best shape possible for someone rapidly approaching 80.
While getting back into shape at this age can seem like a losing battle, I am using every method possible to cheat the system. My newest discovery is Bandit Social Wellness Club, the state-of-the-art facility located within LA Fitness in Encinitas.
I took them up on their complementary trial and found that 20 minutes in the massage chair alone had game-changing possibilities. Please know that I am not connected with Bandit in any way, but want to suggest any of my readers interested in surfing their best to check them out at LA Fitness, or through their website: Banditwellness.com.
Regardless of how you plan on spending it, I hope and pray this year is a bobby-dazzler for you. Man, that was a quick 365 days.
