August 6, 2009 Thursday

Half Moon Bay	Kelly Ave.
9:30 am to 10:30 am	3', sets to 4'
Low upcoming tide	Slight west breeze to no wind
Sunny with high clouds	Fun session

“Dad, we’re surfing south of here,” said my son Kevin at 8:30 am this morning as we crossed the intersection of Fassler Ave. and Highway 1 in Pacifica. “That was the commit point. We’re not turning around and going through all that traffic to go back to Ocean Beach. I did that once and learned the hard way.” Kevin was referring to the northbound commute traffic that backs up behind the light at this intersection.

We had agreed to meet this morning at Sloat Ave for an early morning session. With a small south swell running we considered going to Ocean Beach, a beach that receives swells from all directions and is usually bigger than all the other breaks in the area. Not today. No one was out this morning: no locals, no beginners, no one. We could see the lines of the three-foot south swell across the impact zone, but they did not break until five feet from shore. Both of us had seen surfers out at Kelly Cove, the north end of Ocean Beach, rideable waves, but not exciting and the wind was beginning to pick up.

We decided to head south. Kevin felt our best bet was Kelly Ave. in Half Moon Bay, which is his favorite spot, but we would check out all the breaks along the way. Linda Mar was flat; only one two-foot peak at the very north end was breaking. We stopped and looked at Montara. Again, small waves that were breaking close to shore. One guy was out who didn’t catch a thing in the five minutes we were there. We were tempted to go out here, but decided to push on. The wind was dropping the further south that we went. The best-shaped waves we saw were at the Jetty, the beach south of the breakwater of the harbor, but they were small, one to two feet. At Kelly Ave. the waves were bigger and breaking close to shore. Set waves were definitely rideable. No body was out. I’m always skeptical when none of the locals are at a break. We decided to go out here because: we didn’t want to waste any more time looking for waves, the facilities were good, clean bathrooms and showers that worked, there was no wind and the waves were clean.

Kelly Ave. has a steep beach that slopes into deep water causing the waves, no matter what size, to slam into the shore. It breaks best at low tide. Often at high tide the waves just mush up to the beach. The waves break like those at Ocean Beach, big powerful peaks, that deliver short thrilling rides as one powers towards the steep beach at great speed. Kevin and I took off together on our first wave. I quickly dropped down to the bottom of the wave, and Kevin managed to get some curl before the wave dumped both of us into a foot of water. We moved around searching for the best take-off point and settled on lining up just south of the caretaker’s house. There appeared to be an edge here where the waves held up a second allowing us to get up and position ourselves in the wave. At the end of our hour both of us managed to catch a couple of nice fast curls, staying ahead of four-foot exploding walls. At 10:30 am we called it quits. Besides, Kevin had to go to work.

“So, what are they going to do if they have to close this park?” I asked Kevin. Kelly Avenue’s official name is Half Moon Bay State Beach. The budget compromise agreed upon by the Governor and the legislature last week cut the funding for state parks. The Park Service claims they will have to close 100 parks and they have yet to decide which ones. Revenue generation and usage would be their primary criteria. Kelly Ave has a campground that is full all summer and most of the fall. On warm days the beach is packed. We concluded that this park should survive the cuts. The only way the State can save money is to cut jobs. Thus they would close parks to eliminate salaries. But closing the park would not stop the surfers from riding the waves or stop the fishermen; they will still fish. We guessed they would close the smaller state beaches along this stretch of the coast, such as: Montara, Dunes Beach, San Gregorio, Pomponio, Pescadero and Bean Hollow. These beaches consist of a parking lot, bathrooms or port-a-potties. So closing them would be a minor inconvenience to the Public but would not prevent people from using the beach. So how many jobs would be eliminated by closing these smaller beaches? Three? Four? It can’t be many. We hope the state doesn’t close any of the parks, especially the numerous state beaches.

Driving home Kevin and I convinced ourselves that we had picked the best surf spot on this morning. Regardless, it was a beautiful morning; just check out the above photo.

August 5, 2009 Wednesday

Bolinas	Groin
9:00 am to 10:45 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Mid upcoming tide	North cross wind
Sunny with high clouds	Great fun session

Bolinas at Its Best

“I got barreled out there,” said Josh the Bolinas fisherman. He had just finished his morning session and was standing there dripping wet with his board in his hand. I stood next to him with my camera in my hand. “I didn’t make it out, but I saw the tunnel.” He was referring to the experience where the lip of the wave pitches out, covers the surfer behind a sheet of water and forms a tunnel of water with an oval opening at the end. The logo of Surfrider Foundation depicts this oval. The ultimate in surfing is to be covered up by the tube and to come flying out of the tunnel. Conditions have to be just right to create barrels and this morning north of the Groin wall they were: three-foot south swell at 16 seconds from 220 degrees, mid-upcoming tide, offshore breeze to hold up the curls and a sandbar that forces the waves to continuously break to the left.

Joe the Bolinas local with the wood laminated longboard entered the water a few minutes before me. Joe who is my age is an excellent surfer and knows the Bolinas well. I always pay attention to what he is doing. I went out to the inside break north of the Groin wall and lined up as I did on Monday with the house that is falling down the cliff. Joe was ten yards north of me. A sizable wall approached, I went for it and so did Joe. The wave closed out in front of me but as the white water engulfed me I caught a glimpse of Joe mid-swell crouched down in the middle of his board screaming down a fast breaking left wave with the curl peeling over his left shoulder. It was a great ride. Following his lead I moved further north. Joe had located the edge where the waves pause an instant to allow one the time to lock the board in position just under the lip of the wave. From this spot I caught one fast clean left wave after another.

Martha paddled out on her 9’ 6’ new Dewey Weber board. I wrote about Martha’s son Woody in my July 24th posting. Woody was the young surfer who is very good and who is sponsored by Dewey Weber Surfboards. I asked Martha how she liked her board.

“I love it,” she said. “It’s the best board I have ever owned.” She mentioned that Weber is located in San Clemente, that only one shop in Northern California carries their boards and that she went to San Clemente to purchase this one.

“So how does a family that lives in Northern California get their son to be sponsored by shop in San Clemente?” I asked.

“Woody entered a contest sponsored by Dewey Weber,” she replied. “After the contest Shea Weber (Dewey’s son and owner of Weber Surfboards) invited Woody to join their team.” She didn’t mention it, but I bet Woody won the contest. Martha worked her way south to the peak at the Channel. From a distance I saw her expertly glide down at least five shoulder high walls. Yes she had a good session.

Yoshi paddled out to join me. We were both going for the inside fast left peeling curls that drove right up to the shore. I waited for the sets waves, but not Yoshi. Between sets he moved further inside to catch the smaller waves. When the set waves approached he would be right there next to me. He caught a lot more waves than I did. He has a unique style. Yoshi learned to surf in Japan, and I know from reading Surfer Magazine that the surf in Japan is small, similar to the Atlantic Coast in the US. He is comfortable and good at riding curls close to shore. He also lived a few years in Santa Cruz where he rode a shortboard, thus he has a shortboard style when riding his 9’ 0’ Haut board at Bolinas. He would take off late just as the wave was breaking, jump up to a deep squat, buttocks to the heels squat, on the back quarter of the board with his back to the wave, he would hold onto the outside rail and trim through the first section. When he broke out in front of the curl he would stand, step to the middle of the board, squat back down to go through the next section and drive right up to the shore. Three times as I was paddling out, I caught a perfect view of him trimming down the curl in a deep squat with the lip of the wave pounding on his right shoulder. Each time he drove the board right up to the sand and would step off in six inches of water.

For an hour Yoshi and I traded waves at the inside peak. Later, Oliver joined us. The three of us had a ball just connecting with one perfect little curl after another. When the surf camp hordes entered the water we decided to call it a morning.

August 3, 2009 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
9:00 am to 10:50 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Mid upcoming tide	Slight cross breeze (due north)
High overcast to sunshine	Great fun session

“I was going in,” said a young longboarder who just had paddled out to join me. “But when I saw your last wave I had to go for one more. I’ll only take one of yours.”

“No problem,” I said. “There are plenty of waves.”

He had been out at the peak in the Channel, had surfed one all the way in, wrapped the leash around his board and was walking on the beach when I connected with another great, fast left curl on the inside peak north of the Groin wall. I took off late, turned left, positioned high in the curl, walked to the nose, stood there screaming down a perfectly formed waist-high curl and drove the nose of the board into the white water of the shore break.

We sat through a ten-minute lull before a couple of waves approached. My companion went for the first one, a small two-foot wall. I watched him glide down the face. I turned out to sea and to my surprise a beautiful four-foot swell was approaching. I quickly paddled out and to the north to meet it. I turned, stroked into it as it was feathering ten feet down the line, jumped up, climbed high in the wave, stepped to the middle of the board, locked the inside rail under the lip of the wave, shot down a fast section, shifted my weight back and forth to climb up and down the curl and stepped to the nose to drive it into collapsing shore break. Another great ride. I was five feet from dry sand, had been out for nearly two hours, was exhausted and decided to end my session on a good one.

“Did you get your one?” I said to my young companion back at the cars.

“I got a couple,” he said. “And were they great.” He mentioned that he was out at the Channel and caught several good ones, but they were nothing compared to the shape and speed of his last two rides at the inside peak.

I had this peak all by myself for an hour before he showed up. Six to eight others were at the Channel but none of them ventured down where I was. The conditions came together to produce perfect, fast peeling lefts: a three foot seventeen second south swell, mid upcoming tide, a sandbar that causes the waves to continuously break to the left, an offshore breeze to hold up the curls and 57 degree warm water. I applied the same strategy I used in my good session last Wednesday. I lined up with the house that is falling off the cliff, and searched for the edge of the sandbar by standing in the water. I stood in chest-deep water and waited for the sets. When they approached I jumped on my board, paddled out and north, let the first one go by and positioned for the larger second or third wave. The strategy worked and I connected with several fast inside curls.

When I arrived this morning, I saw Mary was getting out at the Patch. I walked down the beach to greet her. The Patch was slow and she was moving down to Channel where four others were connecting with some good fun left waves. With camera in hand, I watched her connect with two long left curls. That’s Mary on a good one in the above photo. After I had suited up and was at the base of the ramp, Mary was on another long left curl.

I entered the water to head out where Mary and Kathy the biology teacher were. I observed Yoshi on a good inside curl, crouched down with his back to the wave trimming through a clean left section. I caught a couple on the outside, but when paddling out I saw another set of beautiful left curls on the inside, right where Yoshi was. I decided to join him. That is when I started lining up with the house that is falling off the cliff. Yoshi and I started trading waves. At one point I didn’t see him out there. I thought maybe he had gone in. Then I saw him carrying his board up the steps at the cliff end of the Groin wall. He walked down the beach and paddled back out to where I was.

“The rights are good,” he said.

Malibu rights. He caught a Malibu right. Often when the tide is high and swell is strong, a good right peak forms at the end of the Groin wall and the waves peel continuously to the right on the inside of the wall. Five minutes later I saw him again walking his board up the steps. Yoshi would catch a clean peak, swing left until the wave broke, then swing right, the wave would reform but this time breaking right. Yoshi would pick up speed, drive past the end of the Groin wall and work into a long right curl that would take him south way inside towards the mouth of the lagoon. He would end up in shallow water near the shore and walk back to the north side of the wall and paddle back out to our peak. I saw him do this four times. On the fourth time, he kept walking down the beach to the Ramp to call it a day.

Now I had this peak to myself for the next hour. It was a great morning.

July 29, 2009 Wednesday

Bolinas	Groin
9:00 am to 11:10 am	2' to 3', sets to 3.5'
Mid outgoing tide (3.8 ft to 2.5 ft)	Slight cross breeze
Overcast, high fog, drizzle	Fun session

“Hey Nick, I see that business is good,” I said to Nick the surf instructor, ex-owner of the 2-Mile Surf Shop and native to Bolinas as I was driving away after a fun two hour session.

“That’s right,” he replied. “With the surf camp during the week and group sessions on the weekends I’m pretty much going seven days a week.” I saw Nick with a group of twelve little kids, all with soft-top boards, out in the white water at the Groin.

“Well summer is your time to do it,” I said.

“Hey I saw you get a great ride,” he continued. “Long and fast, all across the sandbar.”

“There were some fun waves out there this morning,” I replied.

I connected with at least ten great waves. All inside curls from just north of the Groin wall to the shore break halfway between the Groin and the Ramp.

Expectations for waves this morning were not great. The big south swell had passed and predictions on the Internet were for declining wind swells. I was considering heading for Linda Mar. North swells go right in there. The NOAA buoy report changed my mind: 2 ft north swell at 9 seconds combined with a 2 ft south swell at 14 seconds and no wind. Wave heights of 2’ to 3’ were the same at Bolinas and Linda Mar. The south was at 220 degrees, which is directly into Bolinas. My decision was easy; go for my favorite break.

Mary, Kathy the biology teacher and Yoshi were out at the Groin when I arrived. They were going for these well shaped left waves straight out from the Groin pole. The same conditions I connected with last Friday and Monday were still in affect. The sandbar that stretch out twenty yards and curved to the north forced the bigger waves to break continuous left for 50 to 60 yards. All three of them stated to me that the waves fun. Knee-high curls; just my type of waves. For Mary this was her first day back after recovering from a minor surgery. She was glad to be back in the water and had a good session. That’s Yoshi on a good one in the above photo.

I applied the same strategy I had used Monday, which was to find the edge of the sandbar, sit inside, wait for the set swells that stretched across the beach, and go for the inside curls. It worked. I tested the depth of the water to locate the edge of the sandbar. Standing in chest high water I waited for the sets. When a set approached, I would paddle out to meet the waves, let the first two pass, position for the bigger third wave, stroke into it, turn left, climb to mid-swell, step to the middle of the board and trim through the first section. I would back-off an instant to let the wave build into the shore break, lean into the curl, step to a foot from the nose and stand there until the wave collapse around me a few feet from dry sand. I repeated this maneuver at least ten times in the two hours I was out there. Conditions were ideal for me: warm water, no wind, no crowd, short lulls, short paddles to get out and fast, long, left breaking knee-high curls.

After two hours, I ran out of gas. It was a great morning.

July 27, 2009 Monday

Bolinas	Groin
10:00 am to 11:30 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Low upcoming tide	South onshore wind
Overcast, high fog	Fun session

“What am I doing here?” I kept saying to myself. I was sitting alone, outside just north of the Groin wall. Claude and his friend were at the Channel. The others around me had gone in. Bobbing up and down like a cork, I was facing San Pedro Point, though I couldn’t see it due to the fog on the horizon, and the south wind was blasting me in the face. Chop surrounded me, the swell was uneven and bumpy and white caps were forming out to sea.

“I’m here because this is the last day of the south swell,” again talking to myself. The big south swell, which was labeled Storm #4S by Stormsurf (meaning the fourth major south swell of the season), began last Thursday, peaked on Friday, continued through Saturday and Sunday and now the last remnants of it were here Monday. Starting tomorrow the south swell would be gone, replaced by two to three foot wind swells from the north. My only chance for waves this week was today.

Then my luck changed. I thought about trying the inside waves like I caught last Friday. The finger of sand that stretched out from the end of the Groin wall was still forcing the formation of decent left curls. The water was very shallow in front of the wall and gradually became deeper as you moved north. The change in depth caused the bigger waves to peel continuously north for several yards. There was also a strong current to the north. To fight the current I got off my board and stood in waist high water, thus preventing it from moving me around. At one point I dropped into overhead water. I paddled a few yards south, got off my board and was in chest high water, a little further south I was in waist deep water. If I could locate the edge of the sandbar I would be in position for the big waves that continuously broke along the changing depth of the sandbar. This strategy worked. I would locate the edge of the sandbar, stand next to my board in chest deep water and wait for the sets. Once I saw a big one approaching I would paddle out to it, quickly turn around, take off late, swing left, jump to the middle of the board, climb high in the curl, zoom down a continuously unfolding left curl and end by driving the nose into the white water of the shore break. I repeated this maneuver seven times in an hour. All of them were fast, long rides.

Then the surf camp beginners entered the water. Twenty young people on soft-top boards spread across the edge of my sandbar. All the other experienced surfers were out at the Channel. I was the only old guy mixed in with the soft-tops. I kept applying my strategy. The beginners did know how to recognize approaching set waves, thus I would paddle out to meet them and be all alone on the take off. I would turn into a four-foot wall and see three beginners frozen like deer in the headlights as I would begin to pick up speed high in the curls. Luckily I didn’t hit any of them, but I did come close. I knew it was not a good idea to be weaving in and out around the surf campers, but the inside waves were so good I could not resist going for them. On one good one I weaved my way all the way to the shore and decided to call it a day.

Back at the cars I chatted with Claude and his friend. They were out at the Channel and had connected on some decent right waves. Claude mentioned that it was bumpy, he never saw a smooth wave, but every twenty minutes a big set would come through. He caught four head high, fast, long rights that made this morning’s session a good one.

For all three of us, what started out has a slow morning turned into a fun session.

July 25, 2009 Saturday

Jaimal Yogis – Saltwater Buddha

Last night forty people crowded into the back room of Book Passage in Corte Madera to hear Jaimal Yogis read from his new book, Saltwater Buddha - A Surfer’s Quest to Find Zen on the Sea. Jaimal, who is average height, lean and athletic looking, immediately created a positive rapport with the audience. He exhibited a quiet confidence. The same confidence that I had seen and felt coming form Gerry Lopez when he spoke at Book Passage a year ago and from Laird Hamilton at his book signing last November. With a soft voice he expressed how humble he felt to have so many giving up their Friday evening to hear him speak.

He asked how many were surfers. Ten people, including myself, raised their hands. He then asked how many meditated. Twenty raised their hands. Of course some surfers also meditate, like my friend Mary who was there. Thus most of the audience was more familiar with Buddha than surfing and were here to hear how surfing connects to Zen.

Jaimal began by conducting a five-minute meditation to set the mood for the evening. He led us through a concentration on water: imagine a drop of water that spreads to a pond to a lake to a sea with ripples across the surface to the building of a wave that finally breaks on a beach.

He read the Prologue. This book is in praise of water, a homily about water. It’s a series of short stories about his encounters with the sea and his practice of Zen. The ocean is in constant flux and when you spend a lot of time on the water you become like a message in a bottle, you know where you want to go but you’re at the mercy of the winds, currents and waves. In merging Buddhism and surfing, the wave becomes an excellent metaphor. Waves are pulses of energy through the medium of water. The water doesn’t move, but the pulses of energy (waves) move endless distances. The energy of one creates the energy of another wave. The sea is constant. People are like ripples on the surface the sea. They are numerous and constantly moving, but they have little impact on the depths of the sea.

The book came about by accident. While working in Manhattan, NY, Jaimal became depressed and forced himself to meditate ten minutes a day. From this he wrote a piece on the water metaphor of Buddhism and surfing. The article created quite a buzz on the Internet. Soon Wisdom Books called wanting to see the manuscript of his book. What book? He hadn’t started writing it yet. Wisdom Books, publisher of Saltwater Buddha, is a non-profit company dedicated to works on Buddhism. Their interest led him to compose the story of his journey learning to surf, discovering Buddhism and the relation between the two. At a young age he left his home in Sacramento, took all his money and some of his mother’s, bought a one-way ticket to Maui where he learned to surf and practice meditation. Thus began a series of incidents, insights, and adventures that he presents as short stories in his book.

From his Water-Walking chapter, Jaimal read an excerpt about venturing out to the third bay at Honolua Bay with his Australian surf mentor Roth. The surf was huge and terrifying. He was calling on several of his Buddhist sayings to give him courage to face these waves. Paddling around the second bay to the third bay, the waves transformed from small turquoise into blue open-water surges that exploded against the rocks. Jaimal was repeating a Chinese chant for outside intervention as a big set approached. Roth went for the second wave and missed it. But he was now in position for the third wave of the set, he caught it and disappeared. Jaimal repeated his chant three times, a good six seconds, when Roth reappeared flying ten feet above the collapsing wave.

“This one is yours,” Roth shouted. It was Jaimal’s turn with the next set. He stroked into a big wave, popped up, turned right and picked up speed. Walking on water? No he was running, gliding, flying down the wave, pulling out before crashing into the rocks. A few weeks later Jaimal was back this time without his mentor Roth. In the water was an older, weather beaten surfer who mumbled something about dragons. They traded waves.

“You have to ask permission to surf here,” the old guy said referring to the dragons and the Hawaiian gods. “Some people don’t. They get washed up on the rocks.” Jaimal asked permission.

Jaimal’s stories and Buddhist sayings held my interest and that of the audience. The enthusiasm of the crowd at the end of his presentation encouraged me to read the book. I’m looking forward to it.

July 24, 2009 Friday

Bolinas	Groin
9:00 am to 11:00 am	2' to 3', sets to 4'
Mid upcoming tide	North cross wind
Overcast, high fog, misting	Good session

The Over-hyped Swell

“Don’t you just love the Internet,” I sarcastically shouted to Russ and Mark as I pulled up into the parking area on Brighton Avenue in Bolinas.

I had just circled the parking area, tennis court and park looking for a place to park. I luckily found a spot down from the tennis court towards town. Russ and Mark parked there also and were suiting up. Yesterday only three of us were out at the Groin at 10:00 am. Today twenty-five surfers were spread across the Channel and the Groin and another twenty-five were out at the Patch. Every surfer in the North Bay had been watching the approaching swell on the Internet for a week, had arranged work and school schedules to free up Friday and descended on Bolinas this morning.

For eight days Stormsurf had predicted a four-foot eighteen-second south swell to hit late Thursday and peak on Friday morning. All the other sites were saying the same thing. The NOAA weather radio issued an “alert” about big south swells combining with north wind swells. Roberta Gonzales, a local TV weather person, reported on the approaching big south swell. Lots of hype and anticipation about the biggest swell of the summer, but delivery was non-existent. A wave of disappointment washed over me when I peeked at the Groin from the Seawall. Two to three foot small fast peeling walls, not much bigger than yesterday. After standing there through a long lull a sizeable set of waves came through. The swell was definitely bigger and more powerful, but the other elements were not cooperating. A north cross wind put a textured chop on the surface, the minus low tide at 8:00 am had the potentially good waves sucking out in six inches of water and the ebb flow out of the lagoon impacted the peak at the Channel. The rocks at the Patch were fully exposed. Waves were cresting thirty yards beyond the outside rock but they barely broke. Only the sets waves had the force needed to power one into the inside break.

I entered the water by walking out on the finger of sand that stretch out from the end of the Groin wall, just like I had done yesterday. Ten surfers were at this peak and I didn’t know any of them. The waves were powerful and breaking in shallow water thus the atmosphere was tense. There was little banter among the surfers; only stern looks as they focused on the waves they were paddling for. I had to pay attention to others, which impacted my selection of waves. I did manage to connect on a couple of brief, fast curls. I kept searching of the good take off point. I moved over to the Channel and tried a couple there without much success. I moved back to the Groin with the same results. I moved north of the Groin and found the same situation: crowded, fast breaking small walls.

After an hour and a half I was tired and started working my way to the Ramp. The tide had come up and conditions had changed. On the inside a solid four foot wall approached, I stroked into it, swung left and looked down a beautiful line up. I leaned into the wave, climbed to the top of the curl, stepped to the middle of the board to gain speed, and cruised down a fast long section to end up plowing the nose into the white water of the shore break. What a great ride. The edge of the sandbar was causing the bigger waves to set up for fast, long rides. I knew my spot now. I managed to connect with four more of these waves before exhausting all my energy.

A young longboarder had picked up on the same thing and was out there with me. I had seen him before and I knew he was good. He rode a new Dewey Weber 9’ 6” longboard with no leash. He was in great condition, paddled easily with speed and power. He was always at the peak of the set waves and caught everything he paddled for and walked the nose on every wave.

“You know I met Dewey Weber once,” I said to him between sets.

“You did?” he replied. “I wish I could have met him.”

“A good friend that I played high-school football with was Dewey’s brother-in-law,” I continued. “I went over to house one day and there was Dewey Weber sitting in his living room.”

“I know his son,” my young friend said. “I heard he was a small guy.”

“He was about my height,” I said. “Very solid, athletic guy. Dewey was a champion wrestler in high school.”

A set approached, we started paddling out, and my young friend went for the second, bigger wave of the set. I quickly turned and stroked into the first wave and cruised down another well-shaped left wave. I finished in time to witness my young friend screaming down a four-foot face. He worked his way to the very top of the wave, stepped to the nose, curled five toes over the very tip of the board, hung at the very top, spray flying off the tip as he dropped down the face, backed off enough to remain just under the lip of the curl and sped down this wall of water all the way to the shore. Dewey would have been proud of him.

In memoriam: Dewey is no longer with us. My friend Neil Kilgore did not survive Viet Nam. Dewey’s wife and Neil’s sister and her three children are still with us. Dewey’s son Shea runs Dewey Weber Surfboards.