Surf Pedro Point in Pacifica, California

First time ever 2nd Place at LogJam for PPSC

by Izzy Szczepaniak

Pedro Point Surf Club sent a full team down to surf in Big Stick’s Log Jam on Saturday and Sunday, April 26 & 27. It was a beautiful weekend with lots of sun, warm weather (mid-70’s) and clean ocean conditions. The view from the cliffs all weekend was spectacular with whales swimming by both days and lots of Harbor seal, California sea and sea otters playing in the water. The Log Jam is a contest where the surfers had to use and old 60’s – 70’s board, weighing a minimum of 20 pounds and must surf without a leash.

On Saturday the contest was held at the foot of 38th Avenue . The waves were very small (1-2 feet) but the surfing was fun. Never have so many done so much on so little. It was a festive day with everyone having a great time and lots of Aloha spirit by the competitors, crew, judges and spectators. All the competitors surfed two heats in a random draw and points from both heats were added together to determine who advanced to the second day. All the PPSC surfers advanced into Sunday’s heats.

On Sunday the contest was moved to First Peak and the waves were waist to chest high throughout the day. It was still sunny and warm with a slight breeze coming up only in the last few heats.

PPSCer’s making it to the finals were Stephanie Phillips and Beth O’Rourke (Sr. Womens), Chris Duran (Jr. Mens), Jimmy Holt and Joel Baldwin (Masters), Greg Cochran, Izzy Szczepaniak, and Scottie Correa-Michel (Grand Masters), and Vince Pando (Legends). Todd Smith made it to the finals in the Paddle Race but had to leave before the finals went off.

In the Senior Womens Final Stephanie finished 6th and Beth finished 5th. Chris Duran finished 6th in the Junior Mens Final. The Masters Final was very close but Joel Baldwin finished first, while Jimmy Holt finished 6th. Izzy finished 6th in the Grand Masters Final and Scottie Correa-Michel took 6th. El Presidente Greg Cochran captured first in the Grand Masters Final. Vince Pando placed second in the Legends Division, a Division composed of surfers 70 and over.

This year PPSC participated in the first Aloha Team event. In this competition each team consisted of two surfers from the same club surfing together. In order to score points both surfers (wearing the same colored jersey) had to ride the wave together. From a spectators point of view this was a very entertaining event with the two surfers trying to synchronize their moves on the waves. The PPSC Aloha Team was Joel Baldwin and Steve Thomas. Wave after wave they were on the nose forever, side by side, and making long carving turns, and even moving past one another on the wave. As a result of their great surfing PPSC won the inaugural event.

As a team PPSC finished second behind Big Stick. This is the first time PPSC placed this high in the Log Jam.

Thanks to our brothers and sisters in Big Stick for putting on a great event.

Memories of Woody Brown (1912-2008)

by Greg Cochran
He was a very good friend of mine. I met him in the 60's in Waikiki. I had a chance to hang out with him on his catamaran. We last saw him just four years ago. He'd always have a great story for you.
When I took him to the gate at SFO, just as he was walking to the gate, he turned and with that beautiful snaggle tooth smile he said, "We are the luckiest people in the world. We get to go home and catch a wave!" I could hear him laughing until I couldn't see him anymore. I see him now still. He has a place here with me in my heart. You couldn't help but love the guy! He was very dear to me.

The entire Hawaiian surfing community mourns the loss of one of the world's renowned surf pioneers. Woody Brown was a surfing innovator who was one of the first to build a hollow plywood surfboard. He was the 1968 world surfing champion and rode big waves with legends like Duke Kahanamoku. A few years ago he was featured in the documentary "Surfing for Life" in which he proclaimed, "I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't want to wreck this beautiful body, the more you take care of it , it will take care of you."

Woody was much more than a legendary surfer. He was an ambassador of the 'Aloha Spirit' to whoever he met. He also set altitude records as a glider pilot and invented the modern catamaran. Woody Brown was 96 years old when he passed away last Wed, April 16.

Woody in his heyday circa 1950s

Magical Times with Fred Van Dyke

By Jay Jansson

Over the past two weeks Peggy and I have had the pleasure to spend quality time with Fred Van Dyke and his lovely wife Joan Marie. We've shared dinner and good times with them as well as Joan's sister, Carol Florence and her significant other, Michael Cripes.

One of our evenings was spent at the San Luis Obispo Film Festival, which was honoring 95 year old Bud Browne for his pioneer contributions to surf film making. Fred along with Gerry Lopez, Peter Cole, Bruce Brown, Linda Benson, Jack McCoy, Joel Tudor and other surf celebrities were there to honor Bud Browne for his contributions to the sport and lifestyle that we love so much.

Browne's "Surfing The 50's" movie was shown to a full and hooting house at the Fremont Theatre in downtown San Luis Obispo. Peggy and I had the pleasure of the company of Jim Erb, Tim Smith and Scott Negri for the evening. They are the charter members of my SLO Surfers tribe and some of the most stoked people you would ever like to meet. In 2000 Jim and Tim surfed for the PPSC in the Big Bad & Ugly and along with Scott are proven chargers in the water.

The following week another of my good surf buddies from SLO, Bruce Magnusen, invited Fred, Jim and I to go down to a special Santa Barbara spot with him for a day of surf and sunshine. The drive to and from was spent listening to Fred talk story including the first day that Waimea Bay was surfed as well as the early days of surfing Santa Cruz and Pedro in the late '40's and early 50's. Fred recounted surfing Hawaii in the 1950's at Makaha, Haleiwa, Laniakia and Waimea. It was a day of surf history and stoke shared by all.

While Bruce and Jim surfed, Fred and I enjoyed a nice walk on the beach. Along the walk I found some beautiful sea shells that now have a new home in our garden. We found a big rock sticking out of the sand right in front of the surf break that they were riding.

It was a perfect place to sit and enjoy our special friendship, our love of surfing and his first visit to this sacred spot in 50 years. His last visit there was with John Severson, the founder of Surfer Magazine. Fred told me again of how proud he is to be a member of the PPSC, and all the contributions the club has made to Pacifica, the coastal environment and the community.

We talked about how I coaxed Fred into surfing Pedro in the '90's on a board that Dick Keating had made for him, and about the time that Jason and I turned him onto surfing Sand Island in Hawaii. It was coincidental that Fred hadn't surfed Pedro in some forty years and that he had lived in the Islands for forty years and had never surfed Sand Island before. It was one of my special (semi secret) spots that I had surfed when I was stationed on a Destroyer at Pearl Harbor in the early '70's. It's now a beautiful park and still a somewhat uncrowded surf spot.

After Jim and Bruce's surf our ride through the gated ranch was like floating on clouds. It was such a beautiful day of sunshine, crystal blue ocean and snow white foam from the breaking waves. The drive back to SLO was effortless with our big smiles leading the way.

When we got home Peggy and Joan had a fine dinner waiting for us and Carol and Michael made it over too. After dinner, Joan and Michael were in the hot tub and I entertained them with some of my motorized fleet of model ships. It sure is fun to make people laugh!! Don't know if they enjoyed the U-Boat or the PT-109 more, but it topped off the evening with a bit of an old sailor's humor. Damn the torpedos and full speed ahead!!

Just thought you all might enjoy these ramblings and the pictures. Every day in our life is special and I hope that you can feel the stoke of these magical times spent with Fred, his family and friends.

Mahalo and aloha,
Jay "El Presidente" Jansson

Good Bad and Ugly, Morro Bay contest

Beth ORourke showing us how it's done. Congrats on yet another finals berth.
Click on this link for photos of all PPSC contestants
Click on this link for more contest photos by Mike Baird

Sally Durham in Baja

Sally Durham on a recent Baja trip righthander. Nice wave. You'll have to ask her where, but then she'd have to shoot you.

It's membership renewal time again.

Download 2008_membership_renewal.doc

Santa Barbara Surfari Jan '08

Annual Winter 2008 PPSC Sufari'ers at Refugio State Beach, Goleta, CA - Left to Right: Roy Earnest, Jo Earnshaw, Sky Parsons, Mike Ryan, KC Earnshaw, David, Marshall Lambertson, Bob Lambertson, Eric Cissna, Tim Cissna, Tom Ferro

Lots of peeling 2 to 3 foot "in-betweeners" rolled in unridden throughout the weekend at the point just down the beach from our campsites at Refugio State Beach . . . Greg Cochran would have been all over them.

Sunday night dinner at the Hollister Brewing Company in Isla Vista. L to R: Diane Duncan, Brennan Duncan, Roy Earnest, Bob Lambertson, Tom Ferro, Sky Parsons, Tim Cissna, Mike Ryan, Dave Duncan. Dave saved a couple of parking spots earlier that day in the Day Use area at Hobson's County Park for Tim and Bob and their entourage, so they could join him to surf clean 3 to 4 foot waves at the point break right out in front of the park. What a guy!

Ridin' with the King, Mike Ryan in a fast food delirium on the way home from Refugio. See what fast food will do to you?

The Don's Mavericks Contest Photos 1-08