IN SEARCH OF THE ENDLESS SUMMER

1-24-07
BY CORKY CARROLL

I love the summer more than I do the winter.  With spring come the flowers and babes in thongs and soon the south swells of summer. As the great surf philosophizer Mickey “the mongoose” Munoz once stated so eloquently, “It is better to be warm that cold.”  Hey, I have lived by that John Creedo for many years.  He was right.  As I was just thinking about that very thing, and maybe a vision or two of thonged surf babes, a sort of funny memory popped its cork into my tiny little mind and I had to laugh out loud. 

It was 1963 and a dude from Dana Point who made surf films had just mortgaged his house and hocked everything he owned to embark on making what would become the most seen surf film of all time.  The dude was Bruce Brown and the movie was the classic “Endless Summer.”  Bruce planned to follow the summer around the world in search of that all elusive “perfect wave.”  He would take along two Southern California surfers and film the entire trip. 

In the beginning there was talk of me being one of the surfers to go along.  But as I was only 15 at the time Bruce figured it would be too hard going into all the different countries and all that with someone under 18.  That and the fact that I would have probably driven him crazy being the enthusiastic and exuberant young boy that I was at that time.  I had never heard of the term “mellow” in those days and would not have known it even if it had come up and bit me on the butt.   But Bruce did want to have me in the film and on one nice south swell that year he sent his assistant photographer R. Paul Allen up to Malibu to film myself, Mickey Munoz and Mickey ‘da Cat” Dora. 

 I had met Dora a few times before that but had not really got to know him very well at that time.  But I was a fan of his and was stoked to get to surf with him that day.   I have to admit that I have always sort of been disappointed with Bruce for making the “el rollo” joke in the movie, but whatever.  After I got out of the water I was wrapped up in my beach towel watching Dora and Munoz surf.  They were two of the very best at that time and both more advanced than me so I was a happy camper being able to watch and learn from the masters.  

Mickey Munoz had become one of my best friends by then and had taken me to many of the contests and also been a fantastic coach and role model.  I learned much of my competitive strategies that turned out to really help me in later years from Munoz.  I also learned that surfing was meant to be fun from him.  He was always laughing and hooting when he surfed.  Nobody ever got mad at him for dropping in on them because he always had this huge smile on his face and also was way too little for anybody to punch out.  It was like “Ahhh that little dude is having too much fun to hassle, let him have the wave.”  

Dora, on the other hand, was known for nailing people with kick outs and running over any and everyone who got in his way.  He was the “Black Knight” of Malibu.  But, wow, could that dude surf that place well.  He was the best there then, case closed.  And on that day he was great.  Slithering across those perfect little waves like his nickname “da Cat.”  Precision and grace.  Mickey had the ultimate longboard point break style.  Back arm up, front arm down.  Perfect.

When he came out of the water I had to go up and tell him how amazed I was at his surfing and said something like “Wow man, your really tore the place apart.”

He stopped aand looked at me and smiled.  Then he asked if he could use my towel for a minute.  I said of course and eagerly handed it to him.  He wiped his face off and then promptly blew his nose into my towel.  Satisfied that he had rid himself of all the boogers he handed it back to me and said “thanks.”  Then he just walked off toward the parking lot.

I wasn’t sure if I should hang the towel on my bedroom wall or throw it away.  Instead I let Munoz use it when he came in and then took it home for my mom to wash.  I could later brag that Mickey Dora had “used” that towel.

A HOT MOVE MOMENT ~ The Wave 1-24-07
By Corky Carroll

People are always asking me about something or another to do with memorable surfing moments.  Usually it is the classic “What was the biggest wave you ever rode?,” or “What was your worst wipeout?,” or the ever popular “What was your biggest thrill in surfing?”   These are easy answers:  “3000 foot, food fight and the smorgasbord in Santa Cruz, and the waterbed at Motel 6 in San Diego during ’66 World Championships.” 

Another good question is “What are some of you favorite memories?”  There are sooooooo many of those.  I was just sitting here thinking about that one as I got asked it yesterday and had recounted some epic day in Tavarua for the late eighties.  But then I just remembered another one that took place one afternoon while I was surfing down at Blackies in Newport Beach.  It was the mid sixties, probably 1965 to be exact.  

That was a real glory period for surfing in Newport Beach.  There were some of the top surfers on the West Coast living in that area then;  Herbie Torrens, Mike Marshall, Chris Marsalles, Walter Vizolay, George Weaver, Coy Areledge, Davey Abbott, Ed Farwell and many more.  The Newport Beach Surfing Association was in full power and there was a classic group of characters hanging out in the Blackies Parking lot at any hour of any day.  There were a couple of great surf chicks aptly called “the Magpies.”  They were really cute and good surfers and they chatted all the time like two magpies.  That is how they got the name.  I liked one of them quite a bit, but that is another story. 

There was also a great blues harmonica player hanging out then too named Al Oakie.  He got me into playing blues guitar back then and we used to play at surf movies during intermission.  One day Al called me up and said that Blackies was looking really good and suggested that I come by and pick him up and we go surfing there.  He didn’t have a car at the time as I remember.  

It turned out to be one of those glassy and perfect California afternoons.   No where can duplicate the classic California glass.  Blackies was about shoulder to head high and low tide.  The shape was pretty good and there was not too big of a crowd in the water either.  Perfect afternoon surf conditions.

Just as we were walking down the beach I ran into David Nuuhiwa who was also just hitting the water.  At that time David was becoming the best noserider we had in surfing at that time, maybe ever really.  He was winning all the contests in the Junior Division at the time and I was glad that I had graduated to the Men’s division.  We were quickly becoming rivals although we were always close friends through the whole thing.   On this day I was stoked to see him and have a session together. 

A little ways into the session I caught a wave and rode it into the beach.  As I was standing in shallow water I turned around to see David take off on a perfect peeling left.  He walked up to the nose and hung five. As the wave was reeling off up the beach he crouched down and got covered by the curl.  For a moment he was disappeared inside the wave.  The wave closed out and all of a sudden David popped out of the whitewater siding the fin out and riding backwards.  At that time this was not done and this move brought a huge “Ahooooooooo” from the entire parking lot.
I was standing there in the shorebreak with my jaw dropped and had no choice but to applaud.   It was one of those classic frozen moments in my memory banks.  I was like amazed at the great move and at the same time insanely jealous.  I had to bow to David for pulling it off but at the same time I was wishing that it had been me that had done it and not him.  Oh well, that was the nature of our childhood competitive rivalry.  That one went to David.