Three-time international surf champ Corky Carroll answers your questions each week on the Beach Blog. To hit him up, e-mail Corky at corkysurf@aol.com

Q.  When did you first start competing in surfing contests and when did you stop?  And why?

A.  My first competition was the West Coast Championship at Huntington Beach in 1959 and the last one (on a serious professional level) was the World Championship in San Diego in 1972.  I did compete in a few longboard events some years ago just for fun though.  Why?  If you mean why did I do it I can only say that at first it was for fun but later turned into a profession.  I stopped too soon, I see that now.  I was only just turning 25 when I retired.  But it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

Q.  What is a “pintail?”

A.  It is a shape of the back part of certain boards.  They come to a point and are used Read the rest of this entry »

Three-time international surf champ Corky Carroll answers your questions each week on the Beach Blog. To ask him a question, hit him up at corkysurf@aol.com

Q. Do you know whatever happened to the shaper Ludwig?  The best board I ever rode in my life was a 6-0 Ludwig thruster with a swallow tail.  The thing could catch anything and I’m hoping to somehow replicate that board.

A.  I remember Ludwig Beethoven but I am not sure that he was much of a surfboard shaper.  He was a musician from the pre-Elvis times.  I do know of Ludwig Surfboards though and that Ludwig is a highly respected shaper.  I tried to get info on him but after minutes of brutal research on Google I have come up short.  If you still have the board it would not be that hard to replicate.  But, and most will agree, once you have a magic board, it’s best to keep it because a copy is never the same.  Unless it is one of the new molded boards that actually are all the same.  If any of you know where to find Ludwig please e-mail me and I will post it.

Q.  You used to write about George “Mayor of Main Street” Lambert in your columns some years ago.  He is an old friend of mine and I would love to get in touch with him.  I went to Huntington Surf and Sport but he doesn’t work there anymore.  Do you know where I can find him?

A.  G-Boy?  G-3?  The “Main Mayor of Main Street?”  Why yes, as a matter of fact, I do know where that dude is.  George can be found selling real estate at Huntington Beach Realty located on the third block up from the pier on Main Street.  He also works at Duke’s on the Pier.  Read the rest of this entry »

Three-time international surf champ Corky Carroll answers your questions each week on the Beach Blog. To ask Corky a question, hit him up at corkysurf@aol.com

Q.  Is Pete Townend in the Surfers Hall Of Fame?  If not, does he deserve to be?

A.  Yes, P.T. is already inducted into the Surfers Hall of Fame and for sure he deserved to be.  As the first champion on the current world championship tour back in the mid 70’s, long time successful pro surfer, great guy and somebody who has made a life of the sport and has given zillions of hours to it in hundreds of different ways, many  times not for personal gain or profit, he is more than deserving.  In my book P.T. is one of the greats both in and out of the water.

Q.  I have more or less mastered standing up and turning.  But I am having trouble ending my rides gracefully.  Do you have any advice on how to successfully end a ride?

A.  Well, successfully is a broad term.  Sometimes a  successful ending is a simple jump off.  If you have had a great ride and the wave closes out on you at the end it’s cool to just bail out if the wave warrants that, or just lay down.  A “pull out” is the most common way to Read the rest of this entry »