December 31, 2010 Friday

Tribute to Jim Sylvia

I received the following email from Mark the archaeologist.

Loren,

Something perhaps to note in your blog.

Jim Sylvia, Norcal surf pioneer, passed away on Dec 7th at the age of 79 and his memorial was this past weekend. Jim along with fellow Stinson Beach lifeguard Bill Wilson are credited in the “Stormrider Guide, North America” as being the first to surf Bolinas, Point Reyes, and Stinson Beaches back in the pre-wetsuit 1950s. Jim is also credited with being the first to surf South Jetty in Humboldt Bay.

I knew Jim my whole life, early on he being a teacher along with my father in the Sonoma Valley Unified School District (when I was really small, my family and Jim's young family shared a duplex). During the summer months Jim was a lifeguard at Stinson Beach, a position he held until 1972. He moved to Eureka in the mid-60s to teach and coach at College of the Redwoods. Jim was the real deal, his surf transport being a 1949 Ford Woody and he still had an early 60s O'Neill board that he used back in the day.

I would see Jim from time to time when he was visiting my folks, and he loved to talk about surfing. He would tell me how they would wear wool sweaters to stay warm while in the water and would start beach fires, often fueled by discarded tires, to bring the feeling back to their numb bodies; they surfed year round. Although he started his surfing career down in Santa Barbara, he loved the raw nature of Norcal.

Anyway, as we surf in Jim’s footsteps, I thought it might be worth a mention,

Mark

After receiving the above email I asked my friend Scott, a long time resident of Stinson Beach and former chief lifeguard for several years, if he knew Jim Sylvia. Yes he knew him because Jim always came back for the annual Stinson Beach Lifeguards reunions. Jim was the Supervisory Lifeguard (i.e. Chief) at Stinson Beach after Fred Van Dyke and before Scott. Jim had the reputation of keeping all the local guards in-line and professional in those days. Scott also mentioned that Jim was a nationally ranked wrestler and a Judo competitor and instructor.

Thanks to the wonders of Google I was able to uncover several other facts about this extraordinary individual. First his surfing exploits:

While attending UC Santa Barbara in the early 50’s, Jim worked as a lifeguard and took up surfing at Carpinteria Beach, a sport he loved. Quick side-note here, he must have surfed Rincon which is just around the corner from Carpinteria. In 1959 Jim and his buddy Billy Wilson, both seasonal lifeguards at Stinson Beach, surfed Streamers Lane in Santa Cruz and they were the first to surf Wood Beach, the north side of Point Reyes. In the mid-sixties, Jim became the first to surf the South Jetty in Humboldt Bay. Both of these “firsts” were highlighted in the August 1991 issue of Surfing Magazine in an article entitled “First Surfs.”

Lets pause and think about this a second. Surfing in the cold waters of Marin and Humboldt counties before wetsuits and leashes, on heavy balsa wood boards in the open and rough seas of Point Reyes and Eureka, this had to be one tough individual.

Tough is putting it mildly. Check out some of the non-surfing facts about Jim Sylvia.

Born in 1931 and raised in foster homes in San Francisco, Sebastopol and Brentwood.

In 1952 as a sophomore at Santa Rosa Junior College where he was a linebacker on the football team, Jim was drafted into the army.

The army formed a new unit and after six months Jim joined it. He was one of 700 men that became the original Special Operations Forces, later known as the Green Berets.

Jim graduated from UC Santa Barbara, where he played center on the football team, with a degree in Physical Education. He went to graduate school at San Francisco State University and earned a Masters degree in Health Education.

While there Jim joined the Olympic Club and at the age of 28 took up wrestling. He did ok as a wrestler, he even wrestled against the noted wrestler and famous novelist Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest). It was wrestling that got Jim thinking about teaching. He felt he was a better instructor than a wrestler.

In 1965 Jim became one of the original faculty members of the new College of the Redwoods and he remained there until he retired in 1997. He taught and coached wrestling, football, track, baseball and cross-country.

He always had an interest in Japanese Samurai and thus he took up Japanese martial arts. He earned a third degree black belt in Kendo and a fourth degree black belt in the Japanese sword arts of Laido. Jim had the opportunity to travel to Japan many times, and he led six U.S.- Japan cultural exchange wrestling teams that competed throughout Japan.

Jim was twice inducted into the College of the Redwoods Hall of Fame and on May 16, 2009 he received a Life Time Service Award from the California Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Rest in peace Jim Sylvia: northern California surf pioneer, long time Stinson Beach lifeguard, Green Beret, coach, teacher, husband, father, grandfather, member of the Wrestling Hall of Fame and all-time good guy.