On the phone, surfing legend Mickey Munoz already sounds like he’s at a party. Women chatter in the background, and at first, it seems like he had more pressing things to do than be interviewed.

“Hold on a minute,” he says. He starts talking to one of the chattering background voices, discussing something about scallops. Then his attention returns to the phone.

“Ok,” he sighs. “I’m just organizing and trying to get my life in order.”

Munoz, one of the first surfing icons and a Capo Beach resident, is preparing the party for his 70th birthday, which will be held at Doheny State Beach on Saturday. Munoz isn’t sure how many people will turn out, but his wife Peggy said the number might be around 1,000.

Having such a huge bash wasn’t exactly Munoz’s idea.

“It’s gotten totally out of control,” he says with a laugh. “The girls want it perfect, so we’re in the process of making it perfect.”

The celebration will take over two campsites at the state park, and will feature food, an informal surf contest and a raffle to raise funds for the Doheny Interpretive Association. Guests aren’t supposed to bring gifts for Munoz. Instead, Munoz says, a donation to the Doheny fundraiser will suffice.

Munoz, who started surfing in 1947, has impressive credentials in surfing history: He won the first noseriding competition, pioneered the massive waves at Waimea Bay in Hawaii and designed some of the most influential surfboards around.

But he’s not stuck in history: He still surfs every chance he gets, designs boards, and — most importantly, Munoz says — has the surfer state of mind.

“Surfing is one of those things where if you’re a surfer, you’re a surfer — no matter what you do,” he says.

In the past few years, he’s gotten his ship captain’s license, surfed the waves in South Africa and helped launch Tom Jones’s paddleboarding journey down the West Coast. Those kinds have activities have racked him up an “eclectic” group of far-flung friends, many of whom will be trekking to Doheny for his party.

“I’m sure there are gonna be a lot of people I haven’t seen in years,” he says. “There’ll be a lot of people I’ll never see again for years, or I may not see again, period.”

Getting a good mix of “surfers, snowboarders, artists and artisans” is the reason for the party, Munoz says — “to see what comes out of it.” That doesn’t quite mean the festivities are open to the public, though.

“If it’s a group that obviously doesn’t know my name, I don’t think they’re gonna get in,” he says.

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