Tom Blake: The Original Neural Surfer

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Newport Beach Honored Duke Kahanamoku

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Dispatch from Kahuna the Turtle. On September 19, 2025, Newport Beach unveiled a plaque at Vista Point, above the entrance to Newport Harbor, honoring Duke Kahanamoku and the fellow surfers who joined his rescue a century earlier. On June 14, 1925, a fishing vessel capsized in heavy surf at the harbor mouth. Duke paddled his board out on trip after trip and brought eight men back to shore. Gerard Vultee, Owen Hale, and Bill Herwig saved four more. Newport resident Scott Holt led the three-year push for the plaque after reading a biography of Duke. Speakers at the unveiling noted the lasting mark of that morning: lifeguards around the world took up surfboards as rescue gear, and boards still bring people home today. A surfboard is a fine thing to ride. That morning in Newport, it was also the best rescue craft on the beach. Source: Newport Beach Independent. https://www.newportbeachindy.com/from-surf-legend-to-local-hero-newport-beach-unveils-plaque-honoring-duke-kahanamokus-1925-rescue...
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Malibu Celebrated Its Original Gidget

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Dispatch from the Minister of Lost Waves. On July 12, 2022, more than 150 surf enthusiasts filled Duke's Malibu for a fundraiser and tribute to women surfers, hosted by the Malibu Surfing Association. The evening carried a silent auction and an audience Q&A panel. On that panel sat Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman, the original Gidget. She began surfing Malibu in the summer of 1956 at 15, and the crew there gave her the nickname. Her father, Frederick Kohner, turned her stories into the 1957 novel Gidget. The panel also heard from a filmmaker presenting Accidental Icon: The Real Gidget Story. A beach, a nickname, and a father's notebook started a wave in 1956. Malibu is still riding it. Source: Malibu Times. https://malibutimes.com/malibus-original-gidget-celebrated-at-fundraiser P.S. She started in 1956 and never left the lineup. - Kahuna The Dispatch is your letter from home.
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Surfboard Shaper Dale Velzy Finally Honored

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Dispatch from the Minister of Lost Waves. A bronze plaque honoring shaper Dale Velzy was unveiled Aug 27, 2023 at the Hermosa Beach Museum, and installed Jan 2, 2024 in the sidewalk outside The Strand House at 117 Manhattan Beach Blvd, near the Manhattan Beach Pier. That spot held the surf shop Velzy opened in 1950, called the first retail surf shop in the world. His son Matt attended the unveiling, with Bing Copeland among the backers. In the Golden Age, a good shaper shaped a town too. Who shaped your first board? Source: Daily Breeze. https://edition.pagesuite.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=e42be25d-b441-436c-92db-0c36ee538831 P.S. He opened the shop before most towns had a surf shop to name. - Kahuna The Dispatch is your letter from home.
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