My great friend Woody Ekstrom (RIP) first told me about the Tuesday morning gathering a decade or so ago. He said that many of his longtime friends, including ace surf photographer Tom Keck, gathered at Seaside Market every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. to hang out together and let the surf stories fly.
I was on my way there numerous times when something like a new south swell diverted my attention and derailed all good intentions. Once again, I had scraped my knees on the asphalt of good intentions.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally began attending the group. I then realized that while its geographic location was 2087 San Elijo Ave., Cardiff, its spiritual address was at the corner of information and entertainment. Amid these mainstay legends sat the forever youthful and joyful Christy Hahn; Hansen’s Surfboards founder Don Hansen; aforementioned lensman Keck and his wonder woman of a wife, Linda; brilliant surfboard color designer Sam Cody; longtime wave rider Allan Mitchell; the appropriately named “Big Wave” Dave; Windansea heavyweight, O.G. Mike Burner; Windansea double O.G. Tom Carroll; Sunset Surfboards founder Ed Wright; California Surf Museum’s Jim Marmack. Ellie Glaser and Bob Bishop round out the lineup with their serious surf credentials. I know I omitted someone important from this list and for that, I apologize.
These are all lifetime surfers with many lifetimes of stories, and it’s probably no accident that the group’s informal manner resembles surfing itself. In any surf break there are regulars and those who weave in and out of the lineup. Some, like California Surf Museum co-founder Jane Schmauss, drift in and out of the lineup. At times, Ocean Magazine’s Rob Wald will arrive with famous friends. If not Wald, Kevin Kinnear might stop by with someone who has made a big dent in surf history. Recently deceased mega-legends Dale Dobson and Mike Hynson made several appearances. Big wave tow-in pioneers Michael and Milton Willis and famed board builder Bill Shrosbree have also been known to drop in on occasion.
While over a dozen chairs are spread out on Seaside Market’s walkway, they seem like nothing but a hindrance to me. With no set agenda, I find myself jumping from one end of the table to the other. At one end, Don Hansen is telling a group of friends about his first winter on the North Shore, where he rode what were then considered the biggest waves in the world at Waimea Bay.
At the other end, Mike Burner is sharing first-hand stories on the founding of the Windansea Surf Club. As a key member of the undefeated Windansea paddle team, Burner witnessed the club’s origins and witnessed it becoming the most dominant surf club in the world. If you’re lucky, Cody and Wright might reveal the secrets some of the world’s best surfboards.
If this group has an official name, I am not sure what it is. All I know is that there are no entry fees, dues or qualifications required to sit in. Simply show up.
Next week the Tuesday morning group will head to La Jolla Historical Society for a glance at surfing history of La Jolla. If you would like to join us the following week, swing by and pull up a chair. The meeting begins Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. out front of Cardiff’s Seaside Market.
If there are no chairs available, you are welcome to mine. I’ll be running up and down, eavesdropping on those who have played a big part in surf history. History class is no longer boring. Hope to see you there.
