For unknown reasons, Alter numbered his boards starting at 100, Green said. The 40-pound board had the number 112 on it, thought to be the 12th board Alter shaped. Rob Green of Carlsbad brought a board that his father, Larry, gave him. Hobie catamarans with colorful sails were propped around the hundreds who gathered. No longer did a boat owner need to belong to a yacht club or own a slip to enjoy the water the boats could be launched from the beach.īefore the paddle-out at Doheny State Beach, surfers gathered with boards and wetsuits scattered in the grass. In the late ’60s, Alter started to design sailboats – specifically smaller boats that were affordable at $999. In 1954, Alter opened a custom surfboard factory and showroom in Dana Point. The aerospace industry gave him the idea of using foam the same technology is used in most surfboards made today. This enabled more people to take up the growing sport because of the less expensive and lighter boards. “I think his legacy is ‘Have a Hobie Day.’ How better can you say it?” Munoz said, referring to Alter’s longtime slogan.Īlter started shaping boards in his parents’ Laguna Beach summer home in the early ’50s using the usual heavy balsa wood before teaming with Gordon “Grubby” Clark to develop polyurethane foam as a substitute for the core of a surfboard in the late ’50s. He did doing ding repairs on boards for Alter in the early ’50s. Well-known surfer and shaper Mickey Munoz remembers Alter giving him a job at his shop in Dana Point, the first of its kind in Southern California. He died March 29 at his Palm Desert home after a bout with cancer. He is credited for transforming the foundation of a surfboard from balsa wood to foam, and then he went on to revolutionize the sailboat by creating the Hobie Cat, a catamaran dubbed the “people’s boat” because of the ease of use and low cost.Īlter was part of a generation that defined what it meant to be a Southern California surfer. Hundreds of people paddled out in Alter’s honor Friday, paying tribute to a man who changed the way people use the water for surfing and sailing. Flowers floated on the water’s surface, and occasionally, a passing wave lifted surfers. Boats surrounded the group, while the Orange County Harbor Patrol boat sprayed water, creating a rainbow in its mist.
Surfers gathered on boards hooted after a prayer in the form of a Hawaiian song, splashing water to the sky and holding up paddles with the Hobie insignia. In the blue waters off Dana Point and surrounded by surfboards and sailboats, Alter’s family on Friday released bowls filled with soil brought from Hawaii, ocean water and sand from Waikiki beach, and rock salt, which represented the “purification of one’s soul, body and life,” said Eric Keawe, a “Kahu,” or Hawaiian priest. Hobie Alter had only one request: He wanted a traditional Hawaiian paddle-out ceremony after he died. Hundreds join paddle-out for surfing icon Hobie Alter – Orange County Register Close Menu