Malibu Lagoon : photo courtesy Rip Curl

Malibu: A lady from the start
By Matt George

Courtesy Rip Curl www.ripcurl.com

Malibu has always been a lady.

Malibu is the epicenter of modern surfing’s performance and soul and to ride here is to participate in her legacy and to become a part of her future.

Malibu is, quite literally, a sacred site with a long-believed Goddess energy. Four thousand years ago, the Chumash Indians lived on this “life creating” site, comparing it to a womb, and giving it the name “Hamaliwu” (The surf sounds loudly) in honor of what they believed to be the female voice of the sea. Forever a surf culture hothouse, Malibu is also responsible for the very surfboards we ride today.

Surf Journalist Paul Gross wrote “Malibu is the exact spot on earth where ancient surfing became Modern surfing”. When Tom Blake and Sam Reid first rode Malibu in 1927 they opened the floodgates on this perfect surfing wave. By the time America entered World War Two, up to 300 surfers at a time could be found in her line-up. Oddly, it was that same war that sparked modern surfing design.

Post war materials, called Fiberglass and resin, allowed the finest designers of the day to discard their redwood planks and use lighter, easily shapeable balsa wood. Dale Velzy, Matt Kivlin and Dave sweet were notable innovators, but the lid really got blown off the pot when, in the summer of 1950, a young lady named Vicki Flaxman approached preeminent designer Joe Quigg for a board. Forced to think out of the box, Quigg came up with a 9’6” that was so thin, so light and so responsive that by the end of summer Vicki “was surfing better than most the men”.
This board quickly became the most popular loaner on the beach and soon the men were shaving their boards down to what they considered toothpick proportions. However, having a jump on things, Vicki and her friends Aggie Bane, Claire Cassidy, Robin Grigg and Darrylin Zanuck dominated the line-up for a full year.

The next quantum leap in feminism at Malibu came with the advent of the phenomenon known as “Gidget”. Based on the 1957 novel by Frederick Kohner, the true story was based on his plucky daughter, Kathy Kohner, who spent a spectacularly romantic summers learning how to surf at Malibu. It was Malibu Kahuna Terry “Tubesteak” Tracy who, because of her diminutive size, nicknamed her Gidget “Girl plus Midget equals Gidget”.

Original "Gidget" movie star  : photo ASP/Karen

LIFE magazine ran a photo feature of Kathy and by 1959 the Hollywood movie debuted, kicking off a cultural revolution of bohemianism, surf music and sun worshipping that reached to the very heartland of America. Once again, the female spirit of Malibu reigned and by 1999 SURFER magazine named Kathy Kohner as the seventh most influential surfer in history. “If not for Kathy and that pervasive Gidget myth” Sam George wrote, “American youth would have missed one of the most potent archetypes available in the early 1960’s- a rebellion based not on angst or anger, but on joy”

Because Malibu’s perfect waves continued to wind on and on, surfing too progressed at a lighting speed. The names of her stars read like a hall of fame. Lance Carson, Johnny fain, Butch Linden and of course the Black knight of Malibu, the fabulous Miklos Dora. But although the men were getting the lion’s share of attention, the ladies progressed side by side. In 1965, Charline Tarusa won the ladies division of Malibu invitational surfing “ In a manner that, given the chance, might have won the men’s division”. And in the 1966 invitational, Joey Hamasaki petitioned to be able to surf against the men, was summarily denied, and easily took the women’s division. Still steamed at not being able to compete against the men, Joey, shortly after the men’s final, rode a wave all the way through to the pier that “ was so elegant, showed so much command, that it stopped the awards ceremony until she kicked out”.

All the greats of women’s surfing have ridden Malibu’s inviting walls. From Joyce Hoffman to Lisa Anderson, but the greatest moment in Malibu ‘s female competitive history was the 1975 Women’s international Professional Surfing Championship in which 6-time world Champion Margo Oberg came out of retirement to dominate the greatest field of female surfers ever assembled. The performance seen that day by such luminaries as Jericho poplar, Laura Blears and Lynne Boyer still resonate today in the styles of modern greats Lane Beachley and Lisa Andersen. Of note, inspired this day as well, was the hilarious article written for SURFER by Kevin Naughton and Craig Peterson recounting a scheme to fund their next surf trip by dressing Kevin up as a girl and entering him in the contest expecting an easy win. When in fact, he was so thoroughly thrashed in his first heat, (After being run over and out paddled by Laura Blears) that he did not return to the beach after his heat, electing instead to paddle a mile down the beach to reconcile his shame alone).

Today, the women of Malibu continue to channel her feminine energy into groundbreaking performances. With surfers like Kassia Meador, Julie Cox and Britney Leonard leading the charge, the goddess like grace of Malibu shines on. A perfect natural amphitheatre for surfing competition combined with perfect surfing waves, women’s surfing has and will always hold a dominant spiritual place in Malibu’s history. And any woman lucky enough to participate in this great legacy should honor her by surfing as proudly and as perfectly as the very waves themselves.

Rip Curl Malibu Pro : photo ASP/Karen

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GREATEST WAVE IN THE WORLD
By Matt George

Enshrined in American folklore, Malibu is a place that offers miles of magical, south facing coastline, a history rich in Hollywood film making, and a footprint that boasts the birthrights to what America calls its true surfing culture today. From Gidget to Micky Dora, Malibu has been home to some of America’s most influential surfers.

2000 b.c. – Evidenced by petroglyphs and artifacts found at Malibu river mouth, the first recorded wave is ridden at Malibu by Chumash Indian in a crudely built “Cayucos” or canoe. The surf, apparently was a south swell running “Large and at regular intervals.”

1927 – Tom Blake, along with friend Sam Reid paddle into the first wave ever ridden by a surfboard. They describe it as the “Original perfect wave.”

1935 – Peter Peterson and Gard Chapin (father of Miklos Chapin Dora), ride a giant wave together from third point to the pier, smashing performance limitations and inspiring design innovation that resonates today.

1941 – On December seventh Pearl Harbor is sneak attacked and destroyed by the Imperial Japanese Navy driving America into a world war. Malibu becomes both a haven for the most notorious draft dodgers of the day, and the military’s top aero and hydrographic designers as well.

1950 – Vicki Flaxman asks Joe Quigg to build her a board. He does.She rips. The light, maneuverable 9’6”, becomes the envy of all andMalibu is never the same.1952 – The elite Malibu colony is established. Adding a touch of glamourto the line-up are actors Peter Lawford and Cliff Robertson and later, Marilyn Monroe.

1957 – Frederick Kohner publishes “Gidget.”1959 – The Gidget movie is released. Micky Munoz, stunt doubles for a Sandra Dee. The surf craze alters the very fabric of American society by introducing a “naked” sport and promoting rampant and enthusiastic bohemianism.

1961 – Malibu is officially established as a surfing “Mecca.” An average of 150 surfers crowd the line-up.1962 – Lance Carson has the longest undocumented hang ten nose-ride in history. Witnesses put it at twenty-two seconds. Soon after, in honor of this ride, the Malibu surfing association is formed.

1963 – Miklos Chapin Dora is crowned king of Malibu. He refuses the title. Legions of surfers follow him anyways and his legend lives on to this day.

1965 – The Malibu invitational is held. Such is the rivalry between the San Diego’s Windansea Club and Miklos. Dora and Johnny Fain, that the contest becomes forever known as “The day war came to Malibu.” Competitors actually lost teeth in the fights that ensued in the water and out. Johnny Fain’s jaw was allegedly broken, but he surfed anyway. Miklos Dora, when asked by the TV news why things got so out of hand, he replied “When was the last time you felt that strong about anything?”

1967 – In his last competitive wave ever ridden, Miklos Dora takes off, drops his trunks and moons the judges.

1969 – Up canyon run-off fill the lagoon with sewage and waste causes Malibu to be listed as the most dangerous place to surf in the world.

1975 – The greatest assembly of female surfers ever gathers for the Women’s International Professional Surfing Championships. Coming out of retirement, six-time world champion Margo Oberg sweeps the event. She dedicates the win to Jesus Christ and Miklos Dora, in the order.

1984 – The Surfrider Foundation is formed in response to the Malibu Lagoon disaster and run-off problem. It later conquers the world.1995 – The longboard renaissance is in full swing.

2002 – Kassia Meador sets the unofficial women’s nose ride record with a forty-five second ride where both her feet did not leave the first ten inchesof her board.

2004 – Rip Curl hosts a female contest designed to promote the beauty, soul and excitement of not only women’s surfing, but the beauty, soul and excitement of the sacred Chumash Indian site that we call Malibu

2005 – 2nd Annual Rip Curl Malibu Pro!

Article by Matt George
Courtesy Rip Curl
www.ripcurl.com

Ladies Spots - WahineSurfing