DALE VELZY SURF CONTEST
9-5-07
BY CORKY CARROLL
The Doheny Longboard Surfing Association is holding its 18th Annual Dale Velzy Surf Contest and Luau on September 15th. This is a great event for everyone wanting to celebrate his life and have fun by either surfing in the surf contest or having fun at the Luau. There will be a live band and great food. All proceeds will go to the Club’s environmental and social concerns. I was a longtime, actually lifetime for me, friend of Dale “the Hawk” Velzy and want to give as much support to this event as possible.
The Hawk was a genuine pioneer in the sport of surfing and in the development of the surfing industry, as we know it today. He was a surfboard craftsman and innovator deluxe. Many of his innovations are still in use today. One of which is the Velzy “Butterfly” fin, which is used on longboards as a nose riding aid. At the vintage surf auctions classic Velzy creations go for thousands of dollars to the real serious collectors who can afford the high ticket items. Especially Velzy balsawood boards and Velzy and Jacobs shapes from the late 1950’s when Dale was in partnership with Hap Jacobs. Hap went on to become a shaping legend in his own right.
Velzy had a colorful career that saw huge ups and downs. There was a time he couldn’t use his name for some reason, the stories are never really all that clear. I think he sold it for a period of time. In any case during those years he made boards simply under the name of Dale. He was never one to NOT have fun with a dollar or a wave or a woman. This was a dude who knew how to live life to its fullest and in all honesty I cannot say I ever saw a frown on his face. He was one of those guys who smiled even when he was angry about something. He was also one of those kinds of people that you felt was your friend the first time you met him. I like people like that and I really liked the Hawk. You hear all this stuff about “surf legends” and bla bla bla. But Velzy was the real thing.
I am including the official press release below with all the information you will need for this event. I hope you can attend and be a part of this celebration of a great surfer and human being.
18th Annual Dale Velzy Surf Contest and Luau at Doheny State Beach September 15th, 2007
Annual Doheny Longboard Surfing Association sponsored event will honor legendary surfboard entrepreneur
Dana Point, Calif., September 5th, 2007 – Doheny Longboard Surfing Association (DLSA) is proud to announce the continuation of its annual Dale Velzy Surfing Contest and Luau. Now in its 18th year, the event honors the legendary surf entrepreneur with a full day of fun including a surf contest, Polynesian review luau, and dancing under the stars at Doheny State Beach.
“Dale Velzy was an honorary member of the Doheny Longboard Surfing Association and one of the most influential surf entrepreneurs of all time,” said Jack Sutter the DLSA President. “He and his family attended every event we held in his honor up until the time of his passing in 2005. We are inspired that his family carries on Dale’s tradition by continuing to support his legacy by attending our annual gathering”.
The annual surf contest is open to all and gets underway at 6:30 a.m. at the legendary Boneyard break at Doheny State Beach and continues into the afternoon. All interested surf contestants are encouraged to visit the DLSA’s Website for entry forms and additional information at www.Dohosurf.org.
The annual Polynesian review luau and live band start at 4:30 p.m. with dinner served at 5:30 p.m. (Sites A & B). Tickets are $35 and a great time for all! More information is available on the DLSA Website as well.
This is a one day annual event that should not be missed. Proceeds from the program will be used by the DLSA for the clubs many non-profit support programs.
The Doheny Longboard Surfing Association is an organization comprised of individuals dedicated to the enjoyment of board surfing in a clean and natural environment. In relation to that philosophy, the DLSA will act as a support group to other organizations with similar views and objectives. PR contact: Denny Michael at DLSA10@hotmail.com
EXPENSIVE WORTHLESS SWAMP LAND
The Wave ~ 9-5-07
BY CORKY CARROLL
The other night my wife, the Muy Bonita Karlita, and I were having dinner at our favorite restaurant just about anywhere; Captain Jack’s in Sunset Beach. We were with our pal Creighton “Bones” Bellman, who is a long time Orange County surfer and also a known rocket scientist. Honest, a real one of those dudes. Creighton, knowing that I grew up only about a mile north of there in Surfside Colony, mentioned that I must have some memories of that area before Huntington Harbor went in. I do.
I remember that before Jack Haley, legendary Seal Beach surfer and first West Coast Surfing Champion opened Captain Jacks’ it was a place called the “Canal Club.” It was a small place and my dad used to hang out there quite a bit. He was a local party animal and hung at most of the local fun spots. I think Turc’s was his favorite though. I used to catch the school bus right outside of Turc’s when I was in Intermediate School at J.H. McGaugh in Seal Beach. Many mornings Turc would be rolling out the kegs from the previous evening and would ask me if my dad got home ok. That was my pop, putting in the hours “working late.”
Behind Captain Jacks there is a canal. That would have been the reason for the previous place to be called the Canal Club I imagine. I used to take swimming lessons about a half a block south in that very canal. It was a serious source of concern to my parents that I learned to surf way before really learning to swim very well. But I developed a technique to get myself to the beach in case I lost my board in water over my head. I would sink to the bottom and then spring off and break the surface. There I would take a breath and do it again until I reached water shallow enough to stand up in.
Other than the small island in Sunset Beach, cleverly known as “the island,” there were no other buildings in the area, which is now called Huntington Harbor. It was all swamp and canals. When the tide was extremely low we used to go over there and slide around on the mud. It was smelly and nasty but it seemed like fun at the time. It was a good way to totally ruin a pair of surf trunks too.
Later when I was seriously getting into paddleboard racing I used to train back there for flat-water races. The mosquito bites were pretty bad though. Maybe that was an incentive to paddle faster. Also there were stories of huge octopus and giant squids living in the far back areas. I never went back there for that very reason. I have never liked things with tentacles.
We never ever thought they would develop that area with homes. When they first started to do that I can remember hearing locals say, “Who would ever buy that worthless swampland?”
I guess that just goes to show you how times change and what is today’s garbage is tomorrow’s treasures. I just wish that I had invested in some of the worthless swampland myself. But who knew? Well, I guess somebody did. How many times have you been somewhere way out in the middle of nowhere (yes your right, that could be a country song lyric) and said out loud, “who would ever want to live way out here?” Then a few years later it is a booming metropolis. What used to be nothing but hills and rattlesnakes is now the “Inland Empire.”
Actually Huntington Beach was at one time one of those very places. And now look. It has gone from, “that place down by the beach with all the oil wells” to “Surf City.”
What next? Are there any vacant lots left in Orange County? Probably with all the weight from all the people and buildings and cars and dogs and freeways it could be getting close to the point of the fabled “break off.” This is where all of Southern California breaks off and falls into the ocean.
So we are sitting there talking about all of this stuff while munching down killer crab legs and prime rib the size of whole cows at Captain Jacks and I look out the window and there goes some kid paddling down the canal on his surfboard. Déjà vu. Some things change but some things remain the same. Thankfully.