RIP: Walter Monk
Courtesy Scripps Institute of Oceanography Walter Munk, who gave the Allies a strategic edge in World War II, helped nurture a university into existence, and became a living synonym for oceanography, died February 8 at his home in La Jolla, Calif. He was 101. As a...
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RIP: Randy Nauert
After a life well lived, Randy Nauert has gracefully kicked out. A surfer, a musical pioneer, a lover of animals and friend to many, Randy’s beaming smile and gregarious enthusiasm will be deeply missed. Growing up in Palos Verdes, Randy was one of Rick Griffin’s...
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Cactus Beach and Witzig’s War
By Wayne P. Murphy When I first arrived at Cactus I was a lanky teenager fresh out of school and keen for nothing but surf. My mates back in WA thought I’d be gone for a few weeks -- maybe a month at most. I began working for Paul Witzig. Emu and I did the wood runs...
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RIP: Chris Brown 1970 – 2019
From about ’90 through ’96 the Bud Pro Tour was beamed into hundreds of thousands of houses throughout the U.S., and at one point, over 80 countries around the world. The list of Bud Pro Tour graduates includes Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Taylor Knox, Pat O’Connell,...
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Brock Little’s Last Stand At Waimea?
By Brock Little I decide to take a quick look at the buoy before I go to sleep; it’s 25 feet, 17 seconds. For people who don’t speak buoy language, that’s giant! It’s as big as Waimea can handle, or possibly even too big for the Bay. I have no reason to be nervous,...
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Joe Quigg: Design Alternatives (part 3)
This is Part 3 of Joe Quigg: Design Alternatives Tommy Zahn surfing the famous Darrylin board at Malibu in 1947. The first lighter board featuring a modern bottom and rail rocker with a slightly kicked tail. Photo: Joe Quigg Collection Quigg · Tandem Surfboard 'Robin...
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Joe Quigg: Design Alternatives (part 2)
This is Part 2 of Joe Quigg: Design Alternatives Quigg surfing an empty Malibu. Photo: Joe Quigg Collection Don Drazen, Bill Stevens, Robin Grigg, Dave Rochlen, Peter Lawford, Tom Carpenter, Molly Durn, and Tim Lyons, captured by Quigg at...
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The Idyllic Oils of Wade Koniakowsky
“My Mom put me in painting classes when I was six. At that time, and throughout my childhood and into high school, I was drawing and creating things constantly,” recalls Wade Koniakowsky. Growing up in Texas, today, the 64-year-old artist continues to paint and surf....
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Joe Quigg: Father of the Modern Surfboard
In ’47, Quigg crafted an experimental balsa-redwood hybrid for Darrylin Zanuck, daughter of Hollywood mogul Darryl Zanuck. Thinner and lighter than any other boards of the era, the 25-pound “Darrylin” model became the precursor to the Malibu chip. It’s during this...
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Hitting Rewind On The Momentum Generation
Ross Williams recounts how the winter of 1989/90 and the emergence of the Momentum Generation altered the course of modern surfing: Some of my closest friends growing up were Matty Liu, Jason Magallenes and Shane Dorian. We were head over heals in love with surfing....
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Joe Quigg: Design Alternatives (part 1)
Born in Los Angeles in 1925, Joe Quigg ranks among one of the most important surfers and surfboard builders of the modern era. Growing up in Santa Monica, he first took to the water when he was only four years old, building himself a crude billboard. By the time he...
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Early La Jolla Days: The Bob Insinger Story
Born in 1924, Bob Insinger landed in La Jolla in 1929 when his mother and step-father built the first home above the bay north of Bird Rock. By 1937, Insinger had found his way into the ocean and entrenched himself as one of a handful of La Jolla surfers. Riding...
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