A Benefit That Suits Them Fine
When Fig got his invitation to the fourth annual Waterman’s Ball, it caught me by surprise. A ball for surfers?
It’s put on by SIMA, Fig said. That’s the Surf Industry Manufacturers Assn. These guys are going to be trying to raise money for nonprofit organizations, like Surfrider Foundation, and help strengthen these groups that help protect the ocean.
But a ball? Figgy, you mean, like, dressing up?
Yup. Black tie. The whole nine yards.
I thought surfers only got dressed up for weddings and stuff. You know, Figgy, surfers don’t look too good out of a wet suit. They got these huge shoulders, long, gangly arms connected to big hands that help in paddling through the surf. Most hate shoes. How do you squeeze that into a tuxedo and shiny, patent-leather loafers?
You don’t. Half of ‘em show up in Hawaiian shirts and shorts. But, hey, it’s a good cause. They’re getting a crew of some heavyweight actors such as Ted Danson, Luke Perry, Tom Hanks, Gregory Harrison and actress Dana Delany. It’s surfing’s main social event.
Mike Kingsbury, a SIMA spokesman, said this year’s event will honor Hobie Alter, formerly of Dana Point. Alter, who was inducted into Orange County’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, is considered the Henry Ford of surfing. Alter, 59, an inventive shaper of surfboards, developed a process to manufacture surfboards from lightweight polyurethane foam in the late 1950s, created a catamaran--the Hobie Cat--and became a multimillionaire.
“We want to make the public aware there is an industry side to the surfing scene,” said Randy Hild, a SIMA board member and the Waterman’s Ball chairman.
SIMA expects to raise $60,000 at the ball, which is Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the California Scenario sculpture garden at 611 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa. Tickets are $100. (Ouch!)
But organizers say donations are for three groups dedicated to ocean preservation: American Oceans Campaign, Orange County Marine Institute and the Surfrider Foundation.
Hey! If you can’t afford the bucks, try the fantasy camp surf-off, scheduled the next day. Teams will include surf company execs, surfing legends, touring pro surfers and grommets.
Surfers expected to ride include David Nuuhiwa, who in the ‘60s was one of the best surfers to ever ride Huntington Beach, and pro surfer Richie Collins. Even volleyball star Steve Timmons is expected to bring a surfboard.
The event is Sunday, 8:30 a.m. at Bolsa Chica State Beach. For more information on the Waterman’s Ball and camp, call Mike Kingsbury at (714) 374-0106.
Update: Newport Beach’s newly formed Wedge Preservation Society, a group of bodysurfers that sought to ban knee-boarders (and anyone else with a flotation device) from the Wedge, won an “equitable” compromise from the City Council, said Mel Thoman, a society spokesman. The present blackball for floating devices from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. remains the same. But the council extended the blackball period from May 1 through Oct. 31.
Figgy said veteran knee-boarders such as Bill Sharp of Newport Beach, who fought the ban, will just continue to get up early, get in, rip, and get out and go to work. Thoman said the vets weren’t the problem.
“It was the kooks and people getting in the water with a boogie board thinking they knew what they were doing and didn’t.”
Kudos: Huntington Beach High School is in the middle of a GREAT season, with an 18-0 record! Surfers who follow high school sports may remember that last year it lost to San Dieguito High School. Figgy says the surfers, coached by Andy Verdone, have already beaten a National Scholastic Surfing Assn. team. Top surfers include Jay Larson, John Moyer, Danny Horgan, Jimmy Zimmerman, Billy Oswald and Wyatt Simmons. Girls include Nina Bossa and Dusty Polfer. Bodyboarders are Jamie Mazza and Shannon Henry.
Birthdays: The Fig’s friend, Peter Townend, formerly of Australia and now living in Fountain Valley, celebrates his 40th on May 30. Townend, who helps announce the U.S. Bud Tour, also was No. 1 on the Assn. of Surfing Professionals (ASP) tour in 1976. And surfing’s unofficial curator, Allan Seymour of Capistrano Beach, turns 50. (Weren’t you 50 LAST YEAR, Allan?)
