RSVP / ORANGE COUNTY : Surfers Have Ball Without Beach

Party-goers celebrated surfing’s colorful past and showed concern for its future at the Surf Industry Manufacturers Assn.’s fifth annual Waterman’s Ball.

More than 800 guests, including celebrities, surfers and executives from Quiksilver, FreeStyle USA, O’Neill and other companies in the the beach lifestyle industry, came together Saturday in a rally for ocean health at the California Scenario Sculpture Garden in Costa Mesa.

The $100-per-person gala netted $175,000 for three organizations dedicated to ocean preservation: the American Oceans Campaign, Orange County Marine Institute and the Surfrider Foundation.

Surf’s Up

Filmmaker Bruce Brown, whose classic 1964 surf flick “The Endless Summer” made kids in Iowa long to ride the waves, was on hand to receive the Waterman Achievement Award for his contributions to the beach lifestyle industry.

“It’s fun honoring Bruce. He really loves water sports, and he’s brought that to the whole country,” said Tom Knapp, event chairman and SIMA president.

Brown said “Endless Summer” appealed to people everywhere because it was “fun and happy.”

“The reason I made the film was to give surfing the respect I thought it deserved,” Brown said. “Surfers are good guys.”

Brown recently released “The Endless Summer II.” Proving he’s still an independent spirit, he ignored the call for “creative black-tie” attire and showed up in a casual ensemble that included a navy sport coat with a frayed Hawaiian shirt, slacks and a pair of flip-flops.

He refused to refer to Robert (Wingnut) Weaver and Pat O’Connell, the two who embark on a surfing safari in the new movie, as co-stars.

“They’re not stars; they’re surfers,” he said. Both surfers/actors attended the bash.

Being in the movie “went beyond the dream-come-true status,” Weaver said. Weaver, 28, grew up in Newport Beach and surfs every day near his home in Santa Cruz. He’s handling his newfound fame with good humor.

“Seeing ‘Wingnut is a kook’ written on a sidewalk is the biggest compliment to me, because it means a surfer took the time to do it,” he said.

Party On

Among the guests were women in dresses that fit them like a mermaid’s skin and men wearing shorts with their tuxedo jackets.

“The surf industry is a menagerie of different personalities,” said Jimmy Olmes, vice president of SIMA. “Everyone makes their statement.”

Party-goers wandered about the sculpture garden listening to jazz music, bidding on beach paraphernalia at a silent auction and sampling the well-stocked buffets.

The exotic menu featured red corn crab taquitos with pineapple dip, chilies stuffed with cream cheese and fried in beer batter, lobster ravioli with champagne butter sauce, pizza with sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts and chocolate bread pudding with tequila orange sauce--all the work of Specialty Catering.

Ted Danson, longtime star of the “Cheers” TV show and president of the American Oceans Campaign, made more than a perfunctory appearance; he arrived on time and stayed late. Danson said the SIMA bash is his favorite party of the year.

“All the surfers are out with their babes,” he said, “and they give us a lot of money.”

Danson has been a longtime supporter of ocean preservation.

“Everything that happens on land--whether farming with pesticides, lumber cutting, ozone depletion--everything ends up reflected in the coastal waters. The ocean is the biggest game in town,” he said. “(Ocean pollution) is not going to go away.”

Danson said he occasionally gets together with his former “Cheers” co-stars, but each has gone in his own direction to follow careers and families.

Other guests were co-chairs Susan Crank, Randy Hild and Bob Mignogna; Tim Bernardy, Donald Clark, Stan Cummings, Jim Fitzpatrick, Kelly Gerard, Tom Holbrook, Bob Hurley, Mike Kingsbury, Dan McInerny, Bob McKnight, Don Meek, Mark Price, Michael Tomson, Peter Townend, John Warner, Julie Williamson and Ron Yoshida.