Harbour Day--2007...Giving Thanks

Pictures by Rich Harbour and Lia Johnson.

Write-up by Trevor Downs (TDRevolver)

Well, we're on the eve of Thanksgiving, and I have much to be thankful for, and as I go through the pictures to update our BLOG, I'm very thankful for those who come together on our annual Harbour Day.


This year's event was special, and unlike the years before, kicked off a week before with the arrival of Craig from Australia. What a blessing to meet someone with a stoke to surf, and to give.

Craig's trip was off to a great start, when after being shuttled by Todd from the airport, he checked into the famed Sanatra Inn, and soon had a new Quatro in his quiver. He was the first of many Harbour owners to stay there that week, and soon after his arrival, he met up with a Taxi driver, who offered to escort him about Orange County as his personal driver.

Craig spent the week shopping for his family, surfing Anderson Street, and enjoying the sites, leading up to a couple of fun surf days with Boardhound at Cardiff, and then with Boardhound, Bobby J, and Doug up North.


The boys showed Craig the breaks of Leo Carillo...


and County Line.

Friday, Craig was joined by James, who once again made the trip from Florida, for Harbour weekend.

At San O, Craig, Bobby J, and Todd were joined by myself, Nick, Mark, Ry, Richard, and his son Steven, (as well as a few others). Lia, was once again, there to capture the fun.


Do you remember when? The stoke begins, as Steven enjoys his first San O wave.

Mark, Bobby J. and ???

Craig


Mark

RY

After a fun day at San O, we all made our way to Sanatra Inn, checking in before the night's events.

Taco Surf was raging after quick check ins at Sanatra, and the band was finally enjoyable, and not too loud. Fish Tacos and beers went down smooth before we moved the festivities over to the shop for some great classic film footage from the 60's.

Rich hosted, the guys from the shop graciously served some snacks, and Rich answered questions about his classic film footage and surfboard design, then spun a tale or two before being honored by the H.O.S. with a photo, by Ron, that Todd had etched into marble.



A few of us finished up the night with some Belgium ale at the pub across the street from the shop, and for some reason the waves in the surf stories got bigger as the night wore on.

The morning would prove to be the best conditions yet for a Harbour Day. Clear skies, and chest to head high waves, made for a fantastic morning.

Lisa looks down upon the maniacal smile of her husband, wondering, once again, if it's a good thing to be married to a guy who wants to serve the world?

Good job buddy, another great event!

Boardhound (Todd)


Steve--ilparadosso, showing how it's done.

???

???

Jim



???

Bobby J. on Nadine

TDRevolver (me)

Tad

???

Ry

Scott--5over


Charles--Artgeek


Brad

Craig


Jeff and his family, for the second year in a row, served up some tasty South of the border treats, they have really stepped up the last two events, and as a family, really made the event a treat.

Job well done, a new board won, Lia powers down.

Todd, myself, and a very special guest raffled off a plethora of prizes, and it was a great ending to the event.

Once again, another fantastic day, and for me, I give thanks to where all thanks are due, to God for a wonderful day with wonderful people.

Thank you Rich, Thank you all! Happy Thanksgiving!

SACRED CRAFT - Consumer Surfboard Expo - 10/13 & 14

Some pics Rich posted on the Harbour Site, sounds like a great event, I'm sorry I missed it.

From Bobby J,
"There was a great representation of all types of surfboard stuff (I really liked the new laminate techniques using photo scans), and discussion sessions (the "Don't call me skeg" talk was pretty informative since I'm usually a single fin guy).
As for the booth I really liked the video monitor Rich set up showing photos of people riding his gear (I especially like the one in the middle), or film clips from both the early years and present day. It was more fun when the "seasoned veterans" stopped by and watched the old footage and started to talk story."

Count down to Annual Harbour Day continues...see below.

Harbour Day approaches...November 3rd!

Let's hope this year's event is warm enough, so Bobby doesn't need his hat!


Wow, some fun waves this weekend, really fun!

Time flies, and I can't believe another Harbour Day is upon us. The same great team that provided us fantastic food last year, will be back, the big white van will be home to another awesome raffle, and once again we can all, "oohhh, and ahhhh" at the plethora of Harbours that will be about. I can't wait!

Nov. 3rd.
Dawn Patrol till whenever.
Bolsa Chica State Beach
Tower 20 (Just North of the RV Park).

I thought I'd post a little flash back for the newbies, here is a link to a background story I wrote a few years back, it'll give you a little history, and a few picks from past Harbour days.
Harbour Day History

See you all there! Remember, Harbour Day is an open house (meaning, you don't need to own a Harbour, or even surf to participate) to share with others the stoke we have for surfing and Harbour surfboards.

Remember, we are overloading that spot, so smile and show respect on the waves.

Pray for good weather and better waves!

Fun times in August for Harbour Owners!

August Events
By John (Srf4life)

Harbour Owners’ Society members were busy this August, despite the small-ish surf that we had. In addition to our regular Saturday HOS crew at Bolsa Tower 23, we enjoyed a Thursday afternoon cookout at San-O organized by Melissa Harbour on Aug 9, and the premier of a new surf movie, “Faces of Honolua,” two days later, featuring a special guest commentary by Rich Harbour, held at the Surf Heritage Foundation in San Clemente.


The San-O Harbour cookout took place on a warm, sunny summer day with a 2-4 foot peaky swell and semi-clean conditions.



Harbour team rider Tony Bell and Harbour shop owner Robert both showed they have skills in the water. Those of us who have seen Robert almost always ride a shortboard or fish were surprised at how good he is on a longboard.

He put on a display of classic drop-knee turns and effortless cross-stepping particularly suited to the wave at Old Man’s. We hope to see him on his longboard at Bolsa from time to time.

After our surf session, we all retired to the tables under the shady bamboo grove near Old Man’s and had a barbecue in laid back Aloha style. At the end of the day we all agreed it was a classic San-O day.

The premier of “Faces of Honolua” was a real treat. For many of us it was our first time visiting the Surf Heritage Foundation in San Clemente. In addition to their film series, the foundation boasts what has to be one of the finest collections of surfboards and surf history in the world. There are hundreds of rare and classic boards on display, dating back to the turn of the (20th) century, lots of cool photos and artwork, and in one corner a replica of Dale Velzy’s shaping room that includes his original tools. It is a real surfing history lesson, and definitely worth visiting.

The film itself was a montage of surf footage from the last 40 years at Honolua Bay. Since Rich Harbour was one of the first, if not the first surf photographer to film the classic Maui pointbreak, much of his rare early film of the bay was used in the movie. It was great to hear Rich, along with Herbie Fletcher, reminisce about the early days at Honolua Bay. It was a special evening and a wonderful opportunity to see Rich receive some recognition from the Surf Heritage Foundation for his pioneering board building and surf photography.