TURBAN TOPS GET TENDER V.I.P. TREATMENT

By Inge Morton

Tourmaline has always had its share of good Samaritans. Old timers who quickly grab first aid kits to patch up surfers cut by the fin of a board or boil water on a propane stove to treat stingray victims, or others who simply walk on the beach and parking lot picking up cigarette butts and discarded plastic bags. They have years of loving communion with the ocean. Look around though, and you will see a crop of young surfers who share this same concern for the environment and are also willing to help protect it. So, when a small group of this new generation of surfers saw how many Wavy Top Turban snails had been washed ashore after the big December storm, they sprang into action. According to Mia Tegner, a near-shore ecologist with the Scripps Institution of oceanography, Wavy Top Turban snails are gastropod mollusks that live in kelp forests off Southern and Baja California. They are vegetarians, with diets mostly of kelp.

Kneeboarder Steve Ferguson knew the snails had to be taken back to the kelp beds. He began gently collecting the snails he found on the sand, making sure they were alive, and carefully placing them together near shore. He was soon joined by Caroline and Jacek Minkowski and Emma Wright, who after placing the snails inside bags, put them on top of their boards, and paddled out to Tourmaline Point where they released them. Caroline said, “We took out 24 on the first day, seven on the next day and about 20 today. I hope they are O.K.”

John Bishop explained that, “If the swell is big enough and from the right direction, it flushes out the channel in the reefs around the point. It pulls out the larger ones with kelp and all.” He added that the rocks that were also flushed out were the same size and weight as the snails. The snails should be all right once there are back into their habitat. As for Tourmaline, all is well also. The tradition of caring for the health of the environment and the spirit of aloha to help others is carried on with this new generation of surfers.

Photos by Inge Morton

FIELD TRIP TO EXPLORE SURFING'S ROOTS

By Inge Morton

Awe!!!!! The impact when one first walks into the Surfing Heritage Foundation is breathtaking. Line after line of hundreds of surfboards in mint condition are neatly displayed by year and historical value. They depict the evolution of surfboards arrayed in ranks before your eyes. Stunning!!!!

On 13 December, Mary Helen and Dave Ish, Jan Demetropolis and I went on a field trip to visit the Foundation, located at 110 Calle Iglesia in San Clemente. Tom Pezman, executive director, welcomed us at the door and introduced us to our guide, curator/creative director, Barry K. Haun. Barry walked us from board to board. He knew each one intimately. One could see his appreciation in the way he touched the board, stroked it, and told interesting stories about its creation, its owner, and its arrival at the Foundation. We were amazed at the historical value of not only the almost 400 boards the Foundation owns, but also the surfing related items collected. One can find Dave Velzy’s complete workshop with all his surfboard shaping tools housed in a quaint shed. In separate rooms with comfortable chairs and tables one can browse through surfing books, surfing magazines, photographs, videos, and surfing music, not only from all over the United States but also from around the world. The Foundation could be called surf library/museum/collection, but as Barry said, “We don’t call it a museum we call it surfing archives.” That is the perfect description. If you ever need to do research on surf related subjects, this is the place to visit. If you would like to just visit and enjoy the beauty of the boards, learn the history of each, or just enjoy the aloha spirit of the helpful staff, it is well worth the visit.

The Foundation founded by Dick Metz and co-founded by Spencer Croul, who combined their two collections in 2000, is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. For more info, visit their website www.surfingheritage.org or phone (949) 388-0313.

Photo courtesy of Inge Morton

Collected and reported by Jane Mold

“Dammit, someone always has a bigger gun!”

Spoken by a man with an eleven foot board.

“Hey Joe, I'd rather be carrying a picnic basket being chased by a bear then get in front of you on a wave!”

From one surf buddy to the other

“Hey, if I’m out there, they’re all my waves!”

The warm Mission Jetty aloha spirit

Jan 2: PB Surf Club meeting; 6pm-7pm; PB Recreation Center; 1405 Diamond Street.
Jan 5-6: Gathering of the Tribes; Doheny Longboard Surfing Association Coalition tournament; Church, Trestles.

Club Calendar