Aloha Dale Velzy

A surfing legend has just crossed over to the other side. Aloha Dale Velzy. A man so great they named a North Shore surf spot after him. Dale has gone back to Velzyland.

1927 DALE VELZY 2005
Craftsman who shaped surfing's heritage in California

ASSOCIATED PRESS

May 31, 2005

MISSION VIEJO – Master surfboard designer Dale Velzy, who helped popularize surfing along the California coast and at one time was the world's biggest maker of surfboards, has died. He was 77.

Velzy died Thursday of lung cancer at the Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, hospital administrative supervisor Brian Noakes said yesterday.

Himself a surfer, Velzy built a reputation as a shaper by putting a brand on his designs. His most famous board was the "Pig," which debuted in 1955 and is a collectors' item priced at more than $3,000.

By the late 1950s, Velzy was considered the world's largest surfboard manufacturer, operating five shops and two factories that sold as many as 200 custom-built boards a week. He made boards for legendary surfers such as Duke Kahanamoku, George Downing and Mickey Dora.

"I can't tell you strongly enough how he was the original surfer-cowboy-hot rodder in Southern California," said Allan Seymour, who had known Velzy since the eighth grade. "When we grew up, you couldn't get a higher compliment than, 'You're a Dale Velzy guy.' "

Velzy, the son of a lifeguard, earned the nickname "The Hawk" for his keen eyesight. He began repairing and reshaping surfboards in the garage in 1949 and later opened a shop under the Manhattan Beach Pier in Los Angeles County.

He expanded the business to Venice and later Hermosa Beach, joining Harold Jacobs in 1953 to produce boards under the Velzy-Jacobs label until buying out his partner six years later.

Velzy also helped launch the surfing-movie genre by providing money for the 1957 film "Slippery When Wet."

"Velzy's lasting legacy is the billion-dollar surf industry," said Sam George, global editor for Surfer magazine. "He created the archetype, and everyone has followed it: Get the hottest guys to ride your equipment, get a photo of it and market it."

Velzy wasn't always a good businessman. The Internal Revenue Rervice shut down his shops in 1959 after it found faulty record keeping. He reopened the business a decade later.

Today, Velzy's name can be found throughout the surfing world.

Velzyland, a popular Hawaiian surfing spot on Oahu's North Shore, was named after him. The Doheny Longboard Surfing Association named its annual surfing contest in his honor.

In 1997, he was inducted as a "surf pioneer" into the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame. He also was inducted into the Hermosa Beach Surfers Walk of Fame in 2003.

Velzy is survived by his longtime girlfriend, Fran Hoff of San Clemente; son Matt of Makawao, Maui, Hawaii; and daughter Malia Cohen of Thousand Palms. Services were pending.

Aloha to a hell'uva guy.
:tiki:

"I can't tell you strongly enough how he was the original surfer-cowboy-hot-rodder in Southern California,'' said Allan Seymour, who had known Mr. Velzy since he was in eighth grade and now produces a vintage surfboard and memorabilia auction. ``When we grew up, you couldn't get a higher compliment than, You're a Dale Velzy guy.'

Style he had, all right; Velzy drove glamorous cars, dated beautiful girls, sported tattoos, slicked-back hair and a handlebar mustache, wore diamond rings and smoked expensive cigars. He earned his ``cowboy'' reputation by working on ranches, developing skills in saddle making and leather working, and later decorating his San Clemente house in Western style.''

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2005-06-01 01:40 ]

This was taken from another website.
"Dale's memorial will be on June 14th, at Doheny State Beach - Site A (where we always have his luau) It's at 3 pm - ceremony, paddle-out and potluck. His favorite flowers were the tuberose and Hawaiian ginger."

[ Edited by: Unga Bunga on 2005-06-01 12:05 ]

I can't believe Dale would want a paddle out in the bio-hazard waters of Doheny.

(I guess he just wants to take a few friends with him...)

Dale was so well respected by all surfers young and old ESPECIALLY in South Orange County! Doheny was like his second home. No doubt there will be a HUGE gathering of family and friends to pay their repects. I did not know him personally but I know he touched many of my friends lives and had a big impact on the sport of surfing. This year we lost Gus Weber (skiing pioneer in Mammoth) as well as "Uncle" David Nuuhiwa (Hawaiian surfer, Martial Arts expert, and healer), along with many others. They will all be greatly missed!...