by Kevin Cody During the Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race pre race meeting last month, at Buffalo Park on Catalina Island, race director Buddy Bohn asked for a…
by Kevin Cody
Five of the six inductees in the inaugural 2003 Hermosa Beach Walk of Fame ceremony were surfboard builders from the ‘60s Golden Era of surfing. Individually, and collectively, they rank among the most influential figures in the sport’s history.
“It just goes to show that if you live long enough and you tell enough B.S. surf stories, at some point, everyone will believe you because there’s no one around to dispute you,” Greg Noll, then 66, said during his acceptance speech.
The other board builders inducted that day were Hap Jacobs, Bing Copeland, Rick Stoner and Dewey Weber.
Eaton’s passing follows fellow shaper Becker’s, by just 7 days
SHARE Mike Eaton lines up at the start of the 2006 Hennessey s U.S. Paddleboard Championships in Hermosa Beach. He is paddling a Tom Blake kook box, like the board he learned to surf at Bluff Cove in 1950 . Photo by Kevin Cody
by Kevin Cody
Pioneer surfer and surfboard shaper Mike Eaton passed away at his home from a stroke on the Big Island of Hawaii last Thursday, at the age of 86.
Eaton’s death came just seven days after his childhood friend, Big Island neighbor and fellow South Bay surfer and shaper Phil Becker died of cancer, at the age of 81.
Council loves Classic concept, but balks at cost
SHARE A scale model of the Catalina Classic sculpture. The actual figures would be lifesize, with a 17-foot tall paddleboard. Photo by JP Cordero
Hoping to elist city financial support for a sculpture commemorating the Catalina Classic Paddleboard race are South Bay Boardrider Club members Michael Lee, Ed McKeegan, DJ Wilson, Tom Horton and Brian Kingston. Photos by JP Cordero
A request for $350,000 to help fund a lifesize sculpture of three paddleboarders at the Manhattan Beach pier received a guarded reception from the city council during Tuesday evening’s meeting.
The money would come from the Public Art Trust, which is funded by a city fee on new construction. The request was submitted by the South Bay Boardriders Club (SBBC), which received conceptual approval for the sculpture from the council in Dec. 2018.