Today marks three years since surfer/shaper/father/husband/Surfers' Hall of Fame inductee CARL HAYWARD passed away from a brain aneurism while surfing the south side of Huntington Beach pier on January 21, 2005.
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.My very first board was a 4'11", double wing, pintail, single fin Hayward that my mom bought used off Carl's shop rack (at the Huntington Beach location in above photo) for me when I was just a little grom. My next board was a custom order and Carl had my mom drop me off at his shaping "shack" so I could watch the process of shaping it. Between then and the time that Carl died there were only five boards I periodically owned that weren't custom Haywards. Carl knew I had a liking for his original logo lam, and sometime around 1996, in a period when he was running low on them, he gave me a stack of them to insure I always had my preference available for my board orders. Below are the remaining lams of that stack that didn't have a chance to make it on a board.
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.Another personal testament I have of Carl's giving nature was when I met with him to order what ended up being my last board from him. It was to be a twin with little rear "stabilizer" fin all set in Future boxes. At the time, Future didn't stock the fin templates I was looking for, and the next thing I know, while saying "I think I know exactly what you're looking for... Here, take these," Carl's handing me a custom, unused, twin & stabilizer set of Future fins that he just received for a personal board of his own. Seems there are endless stories from other people of Carl's giving.
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Note:
Carl was an early embracer of the rocket fish board design. Reissues of Carl’s version of the rocket fish are available. Using a board shaped by Carl for himself as a model, the reissues are computer shaped and hand finished by the same craftsmen that worked on his production boards.
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Profits from the sale of the boards benefit his widow and children. The boards are available through Pro Glass in Costa Mesa. For further information contact Mike Ochsner at mochsner@bellsouth.net or Dane New at 949.574.0014
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Hayward shop and surfing photos by unknown.
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More about Carl Hayward at http://www.carlhayward.com/index.asp?ID=1
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2 comments:
Yes, Carl was a great person! I was fortunate enough to ride his boards exclusively for over 20 years in two foot crude to triple overhead perfection. He treated every person as if they were his number one team rider in and out of the water. He made a lasting impression on me and many others.
I know he will never be forgotten!
right on anon!
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