Al Merrick’s hands have shaped countless surfboards through the years. But apparently, they’re better with fiberglass than with concrete.

Merrick, 73, scrawled his name with angular letters in wet concrete in front of Huntington Surf and Sport Friday morning. But the legendary surfboard shaper miscalculated the amount of space he’d need to write his full name and ended up squishing the “k” in “Merrick” against the side of the block.

Luckily for Merrick, this was the 10th annual Surfers Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Even though he was writing in concrete, his words weren’t yet set in stone. Emcee Corky Carroll told him to give it another try, and workers smoothed over his letters. The second time, Merrick got his whole name in the cement, legibly.

Merrick was one of four surfing icons inducted into the Hall of Fame at the south corner of PCH and Main Street on Friday. World champions Sofía Mulanovich, Bruce Irons and Martin Potter joined Merrick in leaving their handprints, footprints, signatures and words of advice in concrete tiles across the street from the pier.

“People come by and put their shoes in the footprints and say, ‘Wow, I have the same shoe size, I could be a world champion,’” Carroll said while Mulanovich pressed her feet into the cement.

A crowd of friends, industry professionals and passersby gathered to watch the ceremony, which featured a red carpet, rope barriers and lots of media cameras. Other surfing stars helped introduce the inductees, including four-time women’s world champion Lisa Andersen, Volcom CEO Richard “Wooly” Woolcot and former Surfer magazine editor Sam George.

Huntington Surf and Sport owner Aaron Pai started the hall of fame in 1997, wanting to recognize surfers in the same way that Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood honors movie stars: by immortalizing their handprints in concrete. Across the street on Thursday, Jack’s Surfboards held the induction ceremony for its Walk of Fame, an institution Pai says compliments the Hall of Fame.

“In Hollywood, there’s the Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theater,” Pai said. “It’s the same thing in Surf City.”

The inductees gave short speeches, but most were soft-spoken and thanked their friends, family and sponsors.

Even though some had to do-over their writing, the letters they left in the cement had clear messages. Potter summed up his philosophy with two words: “Surfers rule.”

To see what all the inductees said, click here.

For more information, go to Huntington Surf & Sport.

More beach news and U.S. Open of Surfing coverage at ocregister.com/beaches.

–Spencer Kornhaber

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