Less kids in the surf in LA. Clyde’s paddleout. Dick van Dyke surfing. New wavepool in Texas.

Farewell to the legend of Clyde Aikau

The New York Times celebrated the life of Clyde Aikau in the report on the paddle out in his honor in Waikiki. More than 600 people showed up to pay their respect to Clyde. Clyde’s wife, Eleni Aikau thanked everyone for celebrating his well lived life and having one more ride with Uncle Clyde. She said: He wasn’t able to surf the last couple of years, so this is the closest we can get to getting him back in the water. His son, Ha’a would have wanted to feed everyone at the paddle-out, but the city permit didn’t allow it. I have learned that Clyde’s favorite drink was a strawberry soda. And I’ll have one for him today, as I’m in Waikiki.

Less kids in the water after fires in LA

Los Angeles Times reports that surf camp operators have experienced a decline in how many children participate in the surf camps this summer due to parental concern for water quality, following the Palisades fires. Anthony Petri, owner of Always Summer Surf School in Malibu said “Everyone’s gonna go bankrupt.” And AquaSurf operating from Santa Monica reported a 20% to 30% drop in business. I’m very conflicted about this report, I do feel for the surf business folk, but hey, less kids after 10am at my local break—I’ll take it. BTW, the water’s fine according to the city. The water is not fine according to Heal the Bay. Take your pick.

‍♂️ That time Dick Van Dyke fell asleep on his surfboard

And now for some better, life-affirming “news” from the past. The People’s magazine wrote about Dick Van Dyke remembering his surfing adventure in Virginia Beach in 2010. According to the Mary Poppins star, he once fell asleep while riding his 10-ft. surfboard. Let’s take a moment to appreciate People’s reporting. Wow, he must’ve been freaking exhausted to fall asleep WHILE riding a wave! Dick woke up out of sight of land, fins everywhere, and he thought he was dead. But it was a pod of porpoises that pushed him all the way to the shore for safety. Dick’s 99 and no longer surfing, but I’m dying to know when this adventure actually occurred. Alas the internet and ChatGPT is at loss.

New wave pool in Texas?

Some potential great news for more landlocked Texans. LA’s wave pool developer, Aventuur is eyeing up Dallas Fort Worth for its next wave pool. They are searching for a 30- to 50-acre site where they can build a surf park powered by Wavegarden technology, with a 5.5-acre lagoon that can generate up to 1,000 artificial waves per hour. This is also good news for me as my friend and LA neighbor literally just moved to Fort Worth. Good reason to visit!

Author: The Wipeout Weekly team