Party-Goers All on Same Wavelength

Tiki torches, hula girls and surfboards. A real shindig, just the kind of party Frankie and Annette woulda dug.

The formal affair--in surf sense, that is--was the seventh annual Waterman’s Ball, far from the sand at the Red Lion Hotel in Costa Mesa on Saturday.

The fund-raiser, sponsored by the Surf Industry Manufacturers Assn., made about $200,000, which will be divided among four ocean environmental causes: Surfrider Foundation of San Clemente, the Orange County Marine Institute in Dana Point, American Oceans Campaign in Santa Monica and the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance of Seattle.

As the 750 guests descended an escalator, they viewed close-ups of dolphins and whales on a gigantic video screen and heard drums beckoning them inside the ground-floor ballroom, which was decorated in a Hawaiian theme. A Polynesian revue--replete with grass skirts and flame torches--was followed by the band Bang!!!

Guests (including top execs from local sportswear labels Quiksilver, Rusty, Ocean Pacific, O’Neill, Gotcha, Oakley and Club Sportswear) donned what could be described as surf wear formal: board shorts and Hawaiian shirts and dresses. It was the right look for an evening that included an auction of surfboards and various beach memorabilia and art.