"Surf Riding in a Canoe" was the top story on the Special Features section of the August 10, 1913, edition of the Virginian-Pilot. This version has been slightly edtied * * * The sport of surf riding on a plank has for many years been one of the chief attractions to visitors in Honolulu. The natives enjoyed the pastime for years before Uncle Sam threw his protecting arm over the island and b...
Phyllis Walsh was born to a wealthy Philadelphia banking family in 1897. She was outgoing and athletic and like all East Coast elites from the period, she spent her summers at the shore—in Walsh's case, that meant Ventnor City, three miles down the coast from Atlantic City. Walsh attended private schools in New England, rode horses, hunted foxes, socialized with Vanderbilts and Rockefellers. She...
"The Story of Philly and Joey," Alicia King's feature on Phyllis O'Donell and Josette Lagardere, ran in Surfing World #425, published in 2025. This version has been slightly edited. * * * Phyllis O’Donell is standing on the sand at Huntington Beach after a surf, stark naked. Stripping off her bathing suit as the fog rolls in, she’s taking her sweet time, wandering her bare bum around before c...
Matt Warshaw interviewed surfers in 1989 for "What Is It About Surfing and Music?" which ran in the August 1989 issue of SURFER. * * * SHAUN TOMSON FIRST ALBUM BOUGHT: Let it Be, The Beatles. BEST LIVE SHOW: Sting, Dream of the Blue Turtles tour, 1986. BEST LOVE SONG: "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," Crosby, Stills & Nash. CAN YOU PLAY AN INSTRUMENT? No, but I'd love to be able to play piano. ...
"Surf Riding in Canoes Society Fad of Newport," unattributed, ran in the August 28, 1908 edition of the Los Angeles Evening News. * * * One of the great sports at Newport this season, of which the outside world hears nothing, is surf riding in canoes. This is a feature of the fun in which the exclusive set indulges on the private beach at the foot of Bellevue Avenue, where, free from public ...
This unattributed article ran on the front page of the Southwest Wave, a twice-weekly Los Angeles-area newspaper. This version has been slightly edited. * * * The chances are that you will not stumble onto Rocky Point cove at Palos Verdes by accident. It is reached only by a rough auto trail which travels a precarious half-mile on a cliff above the beach. But if, some Sunday afternoon, you s...
Surf historian Malcolm Gault-Williams wrote about the Palos Verdes Surfing Club in his "Legendary Surfers" series of articles, from in the 1990s and early 2000s. "Doc," below, is surf photographer and PVSC cofounder John "Doc" Ball. This version has been slightly edited. * * * Doc graduated from the USC Dental College in 1933. In March 1934, he opened an office on South Vermont Avenue, in Los...
The Santa Barbara County Surf Club was formed in 1960, and about two years later the club made an agreement with Clinton Hollister whereby club members would have exclusive access to ride the inconsistent but beautiful waves at the Hollister Ranch. The SBCSC rules and by-laws were created at that time. The version below is likely from two or three years later, as the original annual dues were $25 ...
Paul Holmes interviewed John Milius for Holmes' 1999 Longboard feature In Trim: Lance Carson. This version has been slight edited. * * * It's no secret that the Warner Bros surf epic Big Wednesday, cowritten by Denny Aaberg with screenwriter-director John Milius, was inspired by the Malibu scene both men experienced growing up as teenagers in the late '50s and early '60s. But just how much of...
Paul Holmes' profile on Lance Carton ran in the January 1999 issue of Longboard magazine. This version has been slightly edited. * * * It's not easy being Lance Carson. At 55 years of age and one of the undisputed all-time greats in surfing's pantheon, he is genuinely stoked to be still involved in the sport through his board and T-shirt business, trading on a much-deserved reputation he earn...