Surf's Up at
Huntington Beach Int'l Surfing Museum!
Written by SurfWriter
Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
From San Francisco to San Diego California's iconic surf spots have been celebrated in surf lore, movies, and song, luring a century of surfers to try the storied waves for themselves.
Co-curated by artists Ricky Blake (who created a First Surf Spots Map) and Dave Reynolds, the exhibit includes the works of some of the world's top surfing artists.
When SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti
Kishel stopped by the museum before the exhibit's opening everything was being
put in place.
The museum's executive director PT Townend,
who was instrumental in conceiving the exhibit, calls the original surfers from
California's early days "explorers."
Noting that, although the vast, empty spots
they discovered – such as Malibu, HB, and Doheny – may be crowded now, there
are still other surfing spots waiting to be found.
As the Bruce Brown classic 60s film The
Endless Summer showed, there are no lengths that people won't go to
find the perfect wave.
Finding California Surf reminds us of the diverse array of
surfing spots the Golden State has and how the sport evolved from the early
1900s when legendary surfers like Duke Kahanamoku braved the waves
on wooden longboards.
The exhibit is filled with discoveries and
surprises. SurfWriter Girls were surprised to run into champion surfer Mike
Downey (a 2021 inductee into the Surfing Walk of Fame), who came straight
from the beach and stopped by the museum on his way home.
The ISM is that kind of museum – a welcoming place
that brings people together to share the stoke.
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the
exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint
it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit
groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.
