It was a busy week of events with the Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing, the Walk and Hall of Fame events and Agenda.
Here are some photos from the Surfing Walk of Fame ceremony Thursday at Jack’s and some information about the backgrounds of those honored, from the program.
Wendy Botha, left, a South African who became an Australian citizen. Wendy won four world titles (1987, 1989, 1991 & 1992) and three Surfer Poll Awards (1990, 1991 & 1993).
Fred Hemmings, right, who won the World Surfing Championships in 1968, and most notably founded the Pipeline Masters in 1971 and in 1976 co-founded International Professional Surfers (IPS), forerunner to the ASP. In 1983 he created Hawaii’s Triple Crown of Surfing. In 1984 he was elected to Hawaii’s House of Representatives. In 2000 he was elected to the state senate.
Mark Martinson, below right in blue Hawaiian shirt, won the U.S. Championships in 1965. Martinson started surfing at age 10 and six years later was runner-up in the 1962 West Coast Championships. In the mid to late ’60s Mark crisscrossed the globe with the MacGillivray/Freeman team filming Free and Easy and Waves of Change. He’s recognized 
for being among the first California surfers to convert to the new, shorter boards.
Duke Boyd, left in blue shirt, asked a seamstress in 1960 to make a durable pair of surf trunks he designed. The first-ever “board-shorts” to be capable of withstanding the rigors of surfing were an instant success with surfers and beach-goers along the California coast and the Hang Ten brand was born. For the next decade, the company’s trademark 
horizontal stripes and ad campaigns took the surf world by storm. Boyd sold Hang Ten in 1970 and later played a roll in the success of Lightning Bolt.
Jackie Baxter, left in blue hat, a fearless regular footer from Huntington Beach, earned his reputation by tackling Pipeline and Sunset Beach in the late ’60s. Baxter grew up in Venice in the ’50s. By 12 he was hitchhiking to Malibu with his “wood” Velzy & Jacobs surfboards in hand. By the mid ’60s Jackie was riding for Dewey Weber and, in 1967, Sonny Vardeman introduced a Jackie Baxter Model – the same year he moved to Hawaii.
There was a nice turnout at the event.
I ran into this group after the ceremony: Chris Saenz of HSS, Steve Ward of O’Neill clothing, Tim Garrett of Lost, Charlie Setzler of Rusty and Chad Crites of Lost.
The man of the hour: Ron Abdel, CEO of Jack’s Surfboards.
