This years annual SURFERS HALL OF FAME inductions are set for Friday, August 2nd at 9 A.M.  As always, the location is the SHOF plaza on the corner of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, directly in front of Huntington Surf ‘n Sport and in the shadow of the large statue of the great Duke Kahanamoku.  This is kinda the heaviest corner in the surfing world, as far as corners go.  Ya got Surf ‘n Sport with the SHOF plaza on one corner.  Ya got DUKES restaurant and bar across the street. Ya got Jack’s Surfboards on another corner.  And right there is the famous Huntington Beach Pier, where this year’s U.S. Open of Surfing will open the next day.  To say there is a lot of energy goin’ on at that intersection would be a huge understatement, this place just buzzes with surf vibe.   
 
I gave you an overview of the event a couple of weeks ago.  Today I would like to focus on Ilima Kalama.  Ilima is one of the three inductees this year, along with Hawaiian Jamie O’Brian and Huntington Beach super local, Jeff Deffenbaugh.  

Ilima Kalama was born in Hawaii in 1943 and was raised surfing the likes of Makaha, the North Shore and of course Waikiki.  He came to the mainland in the early 1960’s and immediately won the United States Championship in 1962.  The surf was big and gnarly that year with a lot of wind chop and bump on it, Ilima was one of the very few surfers in the event that was able to handle the extreme conditions.  He was most definitely a great surfer, that was obvious.  Beautiful Hawaiian kinda style, smooth and in total control.  Big well-built dude with a lot of power yet still graceful.  Very impressive.  

​OK, this is gonna be my memories of Ilima and how we got to be good pals and have remained so for the past 60 years.  Fast forward to the summer of 1964.  I was working for Hobie Surfboards in Dana Point.  Hobie had made me the first full time professional surfer by putting me on salary to do nothing but surf.  As a bonus he gave me the option to work in the surf shop any time I wanted on an hourly basis, a way to add a bit more income when I wasn’t surfing or it was bad weather.  On one particular day I was doing some time in the shop when Ilima Kalama called up to see if his new board was ready.  He was sponsored for boards by Hobie.  I answered the phone and told him I would check and call him back.  I did, it was.  The only thing was there was nobody to drive it from the factory in Capistrano Beach up to the shop in Dana Point.  I would have to go get it myself.  I called Ilima back and told him it was ready and he could come get it, to which he replied that he would be there in an hour.  
 
No problemos, I jumped in my ’57 Chevy Bel Aire station wagon with the curtains in the back, cool vibra sonic radio and racks on the roof for boards, not wanting to mess up the bed I had in the back (for surf trips and as a dating aid), and rushed down to the factory to pick up Ilimas new board.  It was a beautiful Phil Edwards custom shaped three stringer work of art.  Wanting to have it all ready for Ilima when he got there, I stuck it on the roof rack and proceeded to rush back to the shop.
 
Unfortunately, the signal by Doheny State Park turned red just as I was getting to the intersection, and I had to stop kinda quick to avoid running the light.  And even more unfortunate is when Ilimas new beauty slid off my roof, bounced off the hood and landed in the road sliding across the street.  Did I really forget to attach the straps???   Yikes.
 
Thankfully no cars hit it and there were only scratches on it, do dings.  I beelined it straight back to the factory and asked them how fast they could repair the damage and make it look perfect.  The answer I wanted was “ten minutes.”  The answer I got was “tomorrow afternoon, if you buy us a six pack.”  My life was flashing before my eyes, how was I going to explain this to the great Ilima Kalama?  The dude was like this big Hawaiian war god surf star.  He ate kids like me for in between meal snacks.  
 
I tried to call him and tell him I had been mistaken, but no answer.  He arrived at the shop soon after and was all happy to check out his new beautiful work of art Phil Edwards special.  I meekly and tying to look small and frail (just in case), came up with this story that the factory had called back saying they were wrong, it wasn’t ready yet.  But they would put a special rush on it because it was for the great Ilima Kalama.  It would be ready the next afternoon.  
 
Closing my eyes and getting set for the big “BAM” when the lights would go out.  But nothing happened.  He took it in stride and hung out for a little while taking surf stories.  What a “SUPER COOL” dude he turned out to be.  Who knew?  
I could go on all day with Ilima stories.  The man is a true legend in surfing.  I can’t wait to see him get inducted into the SURFERS HALL OF FAME on Aug 2 and am happy that I get to be there this year and shake his hand.  
 
Congratulations Ilima and to Aaron Pai and the SHOF for a great selection.  Hope to see all of you there.
 
 
 
 

Every year at this time I offer this public service information for beach goers. This is aimed at those of you who might not be all that prepared for heading to the beach and could use some friendly and extremely helpful advice.  For those of you who are veterans, or have read one of these pieces in the past, you can either flip over to Sports or better yet stay here and read it again, just in case.
 
Maybe you are new to the area or just have never had much experience going to the beach.  Now that the weather is getting warmer you are ready to start taking advantage of one of Orange Counties greatest assets, the beach.  Here are some important things that you need to be aware of and pay strict attention to, for your own good.  First off you need to prepare yourself for time in the sun and on the sand.  Yes, this would mean the use of sunblock.  No, sunblock does NOT keep you from getting that golden movie star tan that you are hoping for.  You will get just as tan with it on as without, and even better because you won’t fry and you will actually be tan and not lobster red and suffering severe pain and agony.  For it to work effectively you need to put in on at least 20 minutes before you go in the sun, it takes that long to sink in and take effect.  If you wait until you get to the beach to put it on it is already too late and you will probably burn before it has a chance to protect you. Then you need to reapply it as often as you think about it, especially after going in the water.  They say some of them are waterproof, but I can tell you that none of them really are.  I put mine on before I leave my house, in the car before I get out of it and then again as soon as I get out of the surf.  

But sunblock is not all, take along a hat, sunglasses and anything else to keep you out of the direct sunlight.  Umbrellas are great.  The sun is not your best friend.  And it’s also not only the sun, there is also the sand.  Sand is like a zillion tiny little mirrors that reflect the sun, just like snow does.  And it gets really hot with the mid-day and afternoon sun on it.  Take something for your feet for the walk back to the car to keep from burning your feet.  It can be like a frying pan and your feet turn into bacon, sizzling and bubbling up all over.  It’s horrible.  
The water is reflective too, all that pretty afternoon glitter is there just to burn your eyes out of your head.  Sunglasses are a MUST.  You do not want to burn your eyes.  I did mine when I was a kid and didn’t know any better.  The result was a number of the most terrifying surgeries you can imagine.  

​What started in 1917 and ended in 1936 at the end of the Balboa Peninsula was the construction of a very long jetty.  The angle of this jetty, along with some sand build up next to it, created a unique wave on a south swell.  This wave would eventually become known as “The Wedge.”

Little did the Army Corps of Engineers know at the time that they helped create the most famous man-made wave on the planet. Nor did they know that this wave would produce a crazy, wild and fearless group of individuals that would become known as the “WEDGE CREW.” (right at this moment I would toss in a cool spaghetti western type riff if I had music to go along with this.)
 
It started in the 1950’s with the advent of swim fins and a handful of brave, maybe a tad loco, souls who loved bodysurfing more than any other form of wave riding.  Because the waves were extremely steep, hollow and fast the board surfers stayed away for the most part.  The older big and heavy boards were not designed to be able to handle waves like that as of yet.  And there was the fact that the waves break in extremely shallow water almost right on the beach itself. 
​Moving into the 1960’s bodysurfers still dominated the break with the odd handful of surf mats and old beater boards that would more than likely break in half. By the 1970’s more and more boards gave it a go with mainly knee-boarding being the choice.  Every now and then shortboards, but these still broke quite often. At the Wedge many body’s and boards would be broken or worse over the years.  “Dangerous” is not a word that gives enough umph to the place.

​By Corky Carroll

Well, we were beginning to think that Kelly Slaters professional competitive surfing career had never been given an expiration date.  He just kept going and going and going….and going some more.  The dude totally put the energizer bunny to shame. 
 
Kelly became the youngest World Champion at 20 years old, it was more than obvious that he was going to have a long and successful run at the top.  But nobody ever guessed just how long and how successful it would go.  19 years later he became the oldest World Champion at 39 years old.  
 
When he hit 40 people were amazed how he was able to still be at the very top of the ratings at that age.  Competitive surfing is a young person’s sport, nobody had even come close to being at the very top for so long.  And to be 40?  There were a lot of “wows” being let out all over the place.  I had barely made 25 when I called it a career, here was Kelly at 40 and showing no signs of slowing down.  How did he do that?  
 
It was darn amusing to watch him still winning.  I was thinking he was probably close to the end of the run and was in awe that he was still able it.  Him still winning as much as still wanting to do it.  As glamorous as being a pro surfer is there is still the mental aspect of grinding it out over and over, year after year.  It’s hard on ya.  But then, there is a lot of money involved.  Top rated pro’s make a boatload of dollars these days…. Probably even more so when Kelly hit 40.  My thought was, “why not hang in there while the big checks are still rolling in?”  Seemed smart really.  Get paid for going surfing for as long as you can.  Get paid for going surfing, what a great thing.  It’s a plan that I went with for a long time, in one form or another.  

​​But then, he just kept going.  The dude turned 50 and was still one of the top-rated pro surfers in the world.  Yes, 50.  The big 5-0.  How did he do that?  He won the “Pipeline Masters.”  Blowing guys outta the water half his age.  It was mind boggling.  I watched many of the events online and there was one thing that I had been noticing for a long time though.  He was not getting the good side of close calls.  I would see a ride that, in my mind, was a great score.  But it would not come out as high as I expected it to.  And it was happening more and more.  I had lived thru that same kinda thing later in my career.  They have seen ya for a long time.  There’s new guys now.  You don’t get the benefit of the doubt anymore.  But, he was still hanging in.  
 
Well, at 53 years old Kelly Slater has said this is it.  Calling it a career after 33 years on the World Championship Tour.  Eleven-time World Champion. ELEVEN!!!  Fifty-five tour victories.  
 
But, that said, it’s not entirely over as of yet.  It seems he has been given a “wild card” entry into a couple more events coming up and intends on competing in them.  How many more of these invitations will he get, and how many will he compete in???  Who knows.  It’s anybody’s guess.  We might see him put on a jersey at 60.  70?  My back hurts just thinking about it.   
 
I first saw Kelly surfing in the “Menehune” division (12 and under) of the Sundek Classic event in Florida back in the early 1980’s.  I think he was 11 at the time.  He was the best surfer in the event, of any age.  I was the M.C. of the event and after watching one of Kellys rides I announced that “this kid can be World Champ someday.”  His mom was happy about that.  I always remembered that and so many times I have wanted to let out a “seeeeeee, I told you guys… hahaha.”  But probably very few, other than me and his mom, probably remember that. 
 
In any case, it has been beyond an amazing competitive career.  He is without any doubt the greatest surfer of all time.  One of the greatest, maybe THE greatest athlete ever.  Right up there with Babe Ruth, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and all those dudes.  
 
It's been an absolute pleasure watching the whole thing.  I have nothing less than the highest respect for this guy.  I still think of him as a kid.  

by Corky Carroll

​When I was a kid and learning to surf I was always told that in order to be a “complete” surfer it was important to be able to do all things surfing and ocean related.  A total “waterman” was the expression that was used.  At first I thought this just meant to be able to all things that had to do with riding a surfboard well.  You should be able to ride all size waves, from knee high to mountain high.  You should be able to surf in either direction equally proficient, front side to the wave or back side to the wave.  
 
But there was much more to it than just that, which I started to find out and learn when I started competing in the surfing events on the West Coast and later all over the world.  It was important to also be a good paddler.  When I was about 14 Mickey Munoz took me under his wing and was a mentor for me as a surfing competitor.  He convinced me to enter paddle races.  I excelled at that and won pretty much every paddle race.   Turns out being a fast paddler also came in very handy in the surfing competition.  Back then you needed to catch a lot of waves in a short amount of time.  These days you only need 2 waves and they give you a ton of time to get ‘em.  Plus they have jet skis to take you back to the line up after you get a ride.

​The downside of this was that almost nobody cared about these paddle races other than the people putting them on and the people that were in them.  I remember being at a party one night after I had just won some zillion mile paddle event.  Everyone was asking me where I had been all day, the surf had been really good.  When I told them I was in the zillion mile paddle race, wherever it was, they all just said, “bummer man, you really missed it.”  Nobody even asked, or cared, how I did.  This was in the 60’s and I think kinda showed that the age of the great “waterpeople” was coming to an end.  Surfing was becoming specialized.   Tandem surfing, which had been a crowd favorite, was all but dying out too.  There were small wave riders and big wave riders and not very many who did both well.  Those that went one direction exceptionally well and not so much the other.  
 
Before this period there had been many fantastic waterpeople.  Duke Kahanamoku kinda got that going.  The dude did it all.  Surfing, swimming, paddling, outrigger canoes, sailing, body surfing, diving…..  he could do it all.  Other Hawaiians were the same.  George Downing comes to mind.  Rode all size surf and won all the paddle races too.  Plus was an innovator at building the boards that he did that stuff on.  Eddie Aikau, the first lifeguard at Waimea Bay and one of the greatest big wave surfers ever.  He could sail, surf, dive, swim…. the whole spectrum.
 
Mike Doyle was one of the greatest all around surfers ever, probably the last of that era.  He excelled so much in the “Iron Man” lifeguard events that they called him “Iron Mike.”  He also made a mark with inventing the “mono ski,” which evolved into todays “snowboard.” 
 
After an extend 20 or so year period of mostly surfing specialists Laird Hamilton came along and started opening
up new ways and new equipment to ride waves differently.  He was a great windsurfer, could paddle from Hawaii to Peru if he felt like it, developed the stand up paddle boards and the “foil” boards.  But it was the tow in surfing in surf that was too big to paddle into that Laird is best known for.  No fear in waves so big that riding them had never been imagined before that.  Well, maybe imagined but not done.  Laird broke big wave boundaries.  
 
And now there is this Kai Lenny guy.  Took it from where Laird left off and is in a whole different world.  I see video of him doing ariels on 80 ft waves.  And he does them on anything.  A surfboard, a wind surfer, a kite board, a skim board, whatever floats the guy can ride it.  It’s amazing. 
 
It's not just guys either.  We have amazing watergirls too.  There is Liz Clark.  She lives on a small sailboat and sails it around the world surfing.  Back in my era there was Candy Calhoun, she could do it all too.  But these days we know more.  Like with anything, once a level is established it’s only a matter of time until it is exceeded.  So new boundaries are being broken all the time.  
 
Today I just wanted to give some credit to the “waterpeople.”  The ones who are able to stretch out into more than just one aspect of surfing.  Maybe plant the idea into a couple young minds to push their boundaries a bit and try some new stuff

by Corky Carroll

I explained to Dave that if this board did have any value, pounding legs into it would ruin it for sure. I promised him that I would put the board in the rafters of my parent’s garage and someday when we’re old and gray I’d sell it as an antique and split the money with him. Dave handed me over seven bucks in quarters and the “Al Nelson” balsa went up on the racks for the ride home.

​Our days of hanging out at the beach faded into careers, marriage, kids and a mortgage. I gave little thought to the dusty old balsa, shuffling it around as we changed addresses. Many years later and having an ocean view office, I thought it would look cool hanging above my door. It hung up there for many years, until one day I noticed a client of mine eyeing it closely for several minutes. My client was Spencer Croul, a well-heeled Laguna Beach surfer and vintage board collector that also co-owned the Surfing Heritage Museum in San Clemente. He complemented me on the old balsa and was soon on his way.
It wasn’t more than an hour later that Spencer gave me a call and says he’d like to buy that board. He tells me he’ll bring over 4k cash before the end of the day. Knowing that Spencer had a keen eye for vintage boards, I immediately googled anything I could find about this old Al Nelson Balsa. Nothing came up, zero, nada, so I call Spencer back and we made the deal. He was back over in 30 minutes, cash in hand. He told me he thought it would look great in his collection, but knew little of it’s pedigree. After a quick photo I watched that old balsa go out the door and out of my life.
That evening I gave my old friend Dave a call. I said “Dave, remember that old balsa I bought at that garage sale?”  “No”, Dave said. I said “c’mon, remember you loaned me 7 bucks and you wanted to make a table out of it”. Again, Dave said “no”. After trying to jog Dave’s memory to no avail I gave up. I reminded him of a promise to split the money when I finally sold the old balsa. Dave came by the house later that week and I put 20 crisp hundred dollar bills in his palm. He was pretty stoked, not bad for a seven dollar investment in quarters.
Since then, video and info have surfaced declaring this board to be the missing link between shortboards and longboards, ridden by many of the great surfers of that era like Butch Van Artsdalen. Apparently sometime in the late 60’s it disappeared without a trace. I’m glad I didn’t make a table out of it.”  
 
Just a little added note:  Al Nelson was one of the hard core La Jolla / Windansea crew that had been an early big wave rider and San Diego surf legend.  Yay Cubby.

by Corky Carroll

Over the last couple episodes of my column I have been telling you about the amazing talents of the infamous Artist/Photographer/Musician Doug Miller of Laguna Beach.  We covered his art and photography previously.  Today I want to get into his music.  The dude is one of those rare people who can make his instrument come alive.  And his is one of the hardest of them all, the violin. I have been letting Doug tell it in his own words thru messages we sent back and forth.  His start was like many others, but the result was way beyond.
 
“OK - Lita - My mom's mom - Grandmother who didn't like being called Grandmother - Her given name was Irene Robinson, but the Robinson's called her 'Ducie' and she liked us calling her 'Lita' - Anyway she got me into the free grade-school program in the 4th grade - Had a choice of flute or violin - those or choir. I could sing - But I didn't want to be singing - I took the violin - Got a private teacher name Sammy Stone in Long Beach - He taught violin and accordion - Not a very good violin tech.  After a couple years, Lita found Merwyn Tucker advertising to teach private violin lessons - He was a worker at Douglas Aircraft and a member of the Long Beach Symphony - Nice tough old guy with hairy knuckles. Slow and very intense technique to get tone and control - I didn't want to practice - But Dad - (Joe) put me in my room for an hour every night. He griped - 'We're not wasting that fiddle money' and I sawed away.”

​“I kept tunes in my head - and they stayed there. I could memorize a few symphonies and classical pieces even if I couldn't play them - and show tunes and pop tunes - I don't remember lyrics - But the melodies stick - Once I have the melody, I can play it - even years later.”
 
“I got invited to play violin with Bob and Dave at the Pelican Fish Company - around Thanksgiving of 1972 - Hitch-hiked to Dana Point - They liked me, and I became the third member of that group - Dave McMahon and Bob Hawkins. - Played a year at the Pelican - Then six months at the Dana Point Jolly Roger on the harbor and then six months at The Quiet Woman in Corona del Mar. I got to know the songs of Dylan, Jackson Browne, Little Feat, John Prine, and a lot more of the bar-stool standards. ​Bob's brother, Phil Hawkins, came in as our drummer at the Quiet Woman. We were joined on different nights at the JR and the QW by April Fulladosa, Mark Turnbull, Greg Thorne, Greg Leisz with his steel pedal, Beth Fitchet and Steve Wood, - and Richard Stekol - several others.”
 
It was at this point that I met Doug, and we became friends.  In 1973 and 74 I left the beach and lived in Sun Valley, Idaho.  Skiing, playing tennis and playing music in local bars.  Doug hitch-hiked from Laguna all the way up there and spent some time with us.  We played music together and he took a ton of photos.  When I moved back to the beach, in the summer of 1974, we organized the “FUNK DOG SURF BAND.”  Doug played “lead violin.”  We didn’t have a lead guitar player, I only played rhythm at that time.  It provided a unique kinda sound and Doug’s playing was really the heart and soul of the band.  And the part about him being able to play anything he had heard was a fact.  During one of our gigs, he got up on stage during intermission and did a set of famous tv commercial jingles, it was incredible and brought the house down.  He truly can make that violin cry or sing.
 
During this time we got asked to record a song for a surf film.  Doug met the guy who made the film and fell in love with his daughter.  He and Becky have been married ever since and have two sons, Jesse and Josiah.  One thing I learned about Doug right off the bat is that not only is he talented beyond the level of most humans, but he also has a very unique and deep way of “feeling” things.  He can read deeper into stuff than most of us would even be aware enough to consider.  That is probably why he is so good at the things that he does, he feels things.  It’s in his photos, art and music.  When I heard that he got married my immediate thought was, “wow, that dude is gonna be a great husband and partner.”  
 
You can see Doug pretty much any day of the week walking around Laguna taking photos or at the Sawdust Festival when it is going on.  I know my life has been better for having known him.  If you see him go up and say hello, very friendly and probably won’t bite.  You will be glad you did.
 
 
 

By Corky Carroll

​Picking up where we left off last time with me telling you about Doug Miller, the artist, photographer, musician, husband, father and all-around amazing dude from Laguna Beach.  We talked about his background in the Navy and about his photography last time.  Let’s jump into his art.
 
Like with his photography skills his painting skills were honed while in the Navy.  As I did last time, I am letting Doug tell you the story in his own words from an online interview I did with him a couple of weeks ago. “As for painting, I liked drawing as a kid. But I like to draw phone poles, electric towers. Oil derricks and Mountains - Didn't like school assignments and I couldn't stay within the lines. - Drew a mural of the LA Basin in the 4th grade.  Loved art in grade school but I was just ordinary - took art at Long Beach City College - and Music - a year of each. Aboard the Bennington, I had painted a couple small murals on the bulkhead of our compartment - Cowboys and Indians and covered wagons for the fun of it. And later a much larger mural by the Chief's quarters - They made a big impression on some of the guys. After being transferred to the Ticonderoga, CVS 14, which was coming into dry dock in Long Beach for an overhaul - I was back to just doing scullery duty - garbage can deployment - called 'shit-cans' - and later on I was on Fire Watch by the Admiral's quarters - where you sit with a fire bottle - (fire extinguisher) by a welder and see that he doesn't start a fire - and the Admiral came by followed by a very ebullient woman, an interior decorator who looked at the nearby bulkhead and said - 'A painting would look good here.' and I chirped, 'I paint murals!' And she replied cheerily' 'You do?' almost like it was some kind of Buster Keaton movie script. I explained I took art at Long Beach City College and I'd painted aboard the Bennington. And the Admiral said - We'll get back to you Miller - and they continued on their way to his quarters. - Three weeks later I was called to the XO's - I thought I was in some kind of trouble - But the XO said 'I hear you paint murals. and I told him I could - and he said 'We'll try you in the in the Admiral's Passageway - the place where I had encountered the decorator and the admiral. and so I bought some acrylic paint and set to painting a couple paintings in the passageway. - and I was assigned to the 'Hab Team - part of Admiral Zumwalt's idea to make the ships more 'Habitual so that there would be more guys re-upping - staying in the service. And so it went - I painted murals all over that ship - And big deck – to - overhead  murals by the ge-dunk machines., by the ship's Post Office, and the Galley where the food trays are turned in - and by the Officer's Lounge - and the biggest of all around the entire four walls of the flight-ops lunch room - where the air crews eat between their shifts and remain in their work clothes. - - the Chaplains office - two paintings there. And then Chief Wiggs had me paint his entire quarters - plus his file drawers. - altogether 57 paintings on that ship.”

If you want to see some of his work check his Facebook page or go to the Sawdust Festival.  That’s the space I have for today but stay tuned next time as I want to get into his music and all that it has meant to me over the years.
 
 
 

​By Corky Carroll