Page 4 - CSM NL V37#2 Summer'23

Dropping In
Dropping In
(Below)...In March, CSM was happy to host Dale
Dobson (below), one of California’s most versatile
competitive surfers.
A talented switch-footer, Dale is considered by many
to be not only one of the best longboarders ever, but he
also excelled in kneeboarding and trick-riding. He won
the Oceanside Longboard Contest a record six times.
Dale has been quietly following CSM’s progress since
the late 1980s, when the fledgling museum was located
in the old George’s Restaurant in Encinitas.

Mark, Bill and Katy
(Above)...Former Pipeline lifeguard and champion
bodysurfer Mark Cunningham and his wife Katy
came to Oceanside in early April, to support their
son-in-law who competed in the Ironman Triathlon.
Mark is one of the featured figures in the excellent
2011 documentary short, Come Hell or High Water.
Also pictured is Bill Schildge, who curated
CSM’s 2014 “Bodysurfing: Pure Fun and Simple”
exhibit.

(R below)...Organizer/activist Andrew “Andy
Mac” McKinnon, the original “surf gypsy” from
Queensland, Australia, paid CSM a visit in mid-June.
He was fresh from a Save the Waves Coalition
meeting in Santa Cruz, and made it a point to stop by.
An avid competitor most of his life, McKinnon is
currently a passionate advocate for beach protection.
His tenacious involvement helped pave the way to
have Australia’s southern Gold Coast declared the Pepe Garcia and his partner
8th World Surfing Reserve. Dagi Rodriguez, from Rincon,
Andy Mac was able to connect with longtime pal Puerto Rico, made it a point to
Derek Beckner (L). Derek, a seasoned wave- target CSM and soak up some surf
chaser himself, told us that his father, Fred, was a history in late May.
San Onofre regular and featured in Don James’ An avid surfer, historian, and talented entrepreneur,
classic photo book “Surfing San Onofre to Point Pepe produced the first documentary about surfing in
Dume.” Derek has also donated a number of boards Puerto Rico in 1995 and published the Caribbean coun-
to the CSM collection. try’s first surf magazine (with Aaron Chang) in1996.
Dagi and Pepe now run Stoked, a surf+espresso-
shop at Maria’s Beach, a popular wave-catching spot
in Rincon, site of the 1968 World Championships.
(You may want to enjoy some of their YouTube
adventures: stokedrincon.com.)
Pepe followed up their visit with an email: “Dagi
and I look forward to keeping in touch and
collaborating with CSM in the future, as we’ve
become great fans of your work.”
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