SURFING : Having a Ball Celebrating ‘Summer’

With Rockin’ Fig away in Ventura protecting his No. 1 amateur ranking in senior men’s last weekend, I represented us at the fifth annual Waterman’s Ball in Costa Mesa. The event, sponsored by the Surf Industry Manufacturers Assn. (SIMA), raised $175,000 for three ocean preservation groups and honored filmmaker Bruce Brown.

Ever since the first “The Endless Summer” 30 years ago, I’ve been wanting to meet this guy. He directed that movie and the newly released “The Endless Summer II.”

What does he look like? Fig asked.

Well, he’s 56 years old and, in typical surfer fashion, dresses awkwardly. He wore a tired-looking blue blazer with stripes over a frayed Hawaiian shirt. And he wore sandals.

Well, how was the Waterman’s Ball? Did they have all these celebrities?

Yeah. Ted Danson was there. I saw Robert August, who starred in Brown’s first “Endless Summer” film. Dale Velzy got up on stage, and so did Laguna Beach filmmaker Greg MacGillivray, who presented Brown with the Waterman’s Achievement Award. Apparently, Greg Noll had taken his crew to Bali, so some of surfing’s pioneers couldn’t show up.

But they had these people all suited up, huh?

Yup. It was major dressy. Most women were poured into tight black things. For guys, it was pure Southern California eclectic: from power suits to wild Hawaiian floral shirts.

You should have met this guy Bruce Brown, Fig. He was a classic. There ain’t a shred of Hollywood on him.

Did you ask him if there’s gonna be an “Endless Summer III?”

Naw. Maybe if there is one, it could be directed by his son, Dana Brown, 34, who accompanied his dad to the Waterman’s Ball. Dana said he co-wrote and co-edited “The Endless Summer II” and was a cameraman on the project.

I asked Brown what the response has been to his movie.

“We heard that they’re liking it,” Brown had said. “It’s a positive movie, and I think it’s good for surfing.”

Do you think the movie is symbolic of a rite of passage?

“I think the media tends to over-analyze movies. This is simple. It’s just a simple, upbeat movie.

“As for a message? Naw. I don’t think that as I was in the editing room I said to myself, ‘Oh, here’s a message.’ ”

SIMA president Tom Knapp, president of Irvine-based Club Sportswear, was ecstatic with the benefit. He said that SIMA doubled its fund-raising amount this year to $175,000.

“This is our biggest event of the year,” Knapp said. “And, this has GONE OFF!”

A live and silent auction were held. Some of the hot items bid on included a trip for two to the Fijian island of Tavarua, a walk-on part in the TV show “Baywatch” and “Mad About You,” and tons of custom surfboards.

Danson represented the American Oceans Campaign, which will, with the San Clemente-based Surfrider Foundation and the Orange County Marine Institute, receive a portion of the $175,000.

Contests: Rob Machado of Cardiff won the Marui Pro world tour contest in Japan on May 29. Australian Dave Macaulay was second, and Florida’s Kelly Slater finished third.

That jumped Machado into second in the world tour ratings, behind Slater. Two guys from the U.S.A. leading the world standings. That’s pretty good.

Endless: Fig’s friends said they saw “The Endless Summer II” and liked it. Some said they want to see it again. They liked the idea in the movie of meeting the top pros at different places all around the world. I heard there are some killer waves in it.

Fig, you eager to see the movie?

Yeah, I’m ready. But I’m waiting for the crowds to thin down. I heard Cape St. Francis, the place where the perfect waves were found in the first “Endless Summer” movie, has changed. It has a bunch of houses there now.

Opening: Waterman Surf Art Gallery opens its second location tonight from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at 554 Huntley St., near Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. For more information, contact James or Diane Wilson, (310) 273-5041.

Searching: Anyone have an original Brue Pomeroy surfboard? Todd Paul Miller of Irvine is willing to pay $1,000 for a BP long board in good condition. They were made in 1962-63 by Lynn Pomeroy in Capistrano Beach. For more information, contact Miller at (714) 251-6595.