Old Logs Jamming : Surfers Revive 1960s Spirit at Longboard Championships

Like regal island warriors, the surfers walked slowly along the crowded beach, water glistening from arms that braced ancient behemoth longboards over their heads.

The surfers ranged in age from 14 to 66, yet shared a willingness to step back in time by stepping on boards from the ‘60s to ride waves of the ‘90s.

They were all very cool.

And they were all very cold.

A steel-gray fog thick as surf wax and a bracing, swirling wind tested the mettle of contestants in the California Beach Party Longboard Championships last weekend at Surfer’s Point Park.

The conditions were the worst Sunday afternoon, when in a salute to a bygone era, the championships ended with three Old Log division heats--an incongruous word if there ever was one.

“Old Log” boards must be at least 25 years old and nine feet long, and no leashes are allowed. Another rule separated the frigid from the fakers: No wet suits allowed.

A multitude of well-bundled partyers crowded the boardwalk above the beach, eating, drinking and dancing. Meanwhile in the 58-degree water, the Old Log surfers walked their boards, occasionally putting their toes over the nose in the classic Hang 10 pose.

At that moment, the thrill eclipsed the chill. What cold? These surfers were hot!

“Those old boards have built-in soul,” said Craig (Bear) Woznick, 40, of Newbury Park. “You do slow turns and these long, drawn out maneuvers.

“And you are feeling the history of the sport. It’s like driving an old car. You feel the tradition, and memories come flashing back.”

Low on memories but long on imagination was Woznick’s 14-year-old son Jeremiah, who like his pop competed in the Old Log as well as his own age division. With that big board underfoot, he pictures himself a pioneer surfer.

“I was thinking about surfing in the ‘50s and ‘60s, what it must have felt like, and how hard it was,” said Jeremiah, the second-youngest surfer in the competition.

Jeremiah’s sister, 16-year-old Fawn, competed in the women’s open division, braving the brutal conditions to finish sixth in the final heat. That hardly dampened her enjoyment.

“Even though I blew my heat, I had a good time,” Fawn said. “I knew most of the girls and guys there. Part of the fun is seeing everybody.”

The championships drew 262 top surfers from Oceanside to Santa Cruz, including many from Ventura County. Longboard events are held all along the coast nearly year-around, and the California Beach Party is considered one of the best.

The Stylemaster award, given to the winner of the Old Log division, went to Tim Hodgson of Santa Barbara. Hodgson also finished second in the 40-49 division.

Top finishers from the area included Erin Edwards of Agoura Hills and Nicole Listerberger of Ventura, fourth and sixth in the women’s open division; Ethan Akins of Canyon Country, Matt Rickard of Camarillo and Woznick, fourth, fifth and sixth in the 19-and-under division; and Brandon Eifrid of Ventura, sixth in the 20-29 division.

J.P. McClelland and Billy Barker of Oxnard finished fifth and sixth in the 30-39 division, and Steve Walden and Bruce Douglass of Ventura were third and fifth in the 40-49 division.

Charlie Barton of Oxnard was fourth in the 50-59 division. Jack Cantrell of Ventura and Michael Birs of Calabasas were fourth and fifth in the 60-and-over division.

Barton’s return to competitive surfing after a dry decade is typical of many older surfers. He began surfing in 1958, but when the boards got shorter in the mid-60s and he settled down with a wife and two children, he kept his feet firmly on the ground.

Barton, 52, surfed sporadically before stopping completely in 1983.

“I went to the Beach Party two years ago and saw all the old names,” he said. “I went home and got out my board and practiced all year. I got inspired.”

Now his surfing future is as limitless as an ocean horizon.

“I’m going to hang on and get into that 60-and-over class,” he said.

He’ll have his chance as long as Betty Elder and a legion of dedicated volunteers continue to organize the championships, which have been staged for seven years. The event has been part of the California Beach Party since 1992.

Elder, publicist for the Ventura Theater and a lifelong Ventura resident, delights in bringing together the local surfing community.

“Ventura has a great surfing tradition and it’s neat that so many of the original names are still surfing,” Elder said. “For them, longboards are standard operating procedure.

“But the fact that young kids are into them too is the best. Longboards are a tradition that has been passed through a generation.”

In addition to the competition, three teams of expert co-ed tandem surfers preceded the Old Log competition by cutting through the fog with graceful stunts worthy of ice skaters.

Of course, the tandem surfers wore wet suits.

Several normally hardy surfers backed out of their Old Log heats after peeling off their wet suits and testing the air.

“It was too cold, I chickened out,” Barton said.

Craig Woznick, who everyone calls “Bear,” was a bit braver, causing announcer Thom Theys to wonder aloud if his nickname should be “Bare.” Theys called the action like a baseball play-by-play commentator.

“Here’s a nice set coming in outside, there’s a nice stylish move by Woznick, who does a 360 . . . and a body slam on the board!,” Theys announced.

The board, 35 years old and 35 pounds, groaned audibly. If only those Old Logs could speak.