Paddle Out to honor Oregon surfers

The third annual Oregon Paddle Out to honor all Oregon surfers who have passed will be Saturday, July 20th at the Agate Beach Cove. There will be an all-day beach party with multiple events this year to celebrate the 60th year of surfing at Agate Beach. The Oregon Paddle Out (OPO) board members are organizing all the events with help from Ossies Surf Shop and Pura Vida Surf shop.

A Retro Surf Demo is scheduled for 11:00 AM at Agate Beach Cove. Longboards from six local surfers are on display a Ossies Surf Shop. The boards will be used by surfers from Pura Vida and Ossies Surf Shops. Dan Hasselschwert explains, “The collection of vintages 1960’s surfboards on display at Ossies Surf Shop, will be used in the Retro Surfing Demonstration this summer. They were generously loaned to the OPO Commission from some of the original Agate Beach locals and other lifelong surfers in the area. Seeing all these beautiful historic artifacts in one place has really spawned a newfound appreciation for the equipment that the first surfers in this area had to use.”

Sandy Blackman comments, “We are thrilled to have the following owners loan their boards for the Retro Surf Contest.” ABSC members Jeff Hollen Greek board and Jeff Ouderkirk a Dewey Weber; board makers Ralph Meier donated a Hansen and Robert Rube a Gordon and Smith; OPO board member Jay Sennewald donated a Con Ugly and David Guerena a Gordon and Smith Hot Curl. “

Surfers will gather at Agate Beach Cove at 12:45 for the reading of the names of 39 surfers who have passed. Surfers will paddle out past the breakers and close to the cliffs of Yaquina Head Natural Preserve. Jay Sennewald and Tony Stein will paddle out leaders. Jay shares, “For me, the OPO brings an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and to establish new relationships with others in the surfing community. I really look forward to this year’s event and hope we can build on this tradition to honor those who have much in common with our own experiences.”

Paddle races were very popular in the 60s in surf contests in Coos Bay, Agate Beach, and Seaside. Jack Skriver’s brother Marty Skriver, Marion Bowers, Jeff Hollen, Rick Baley and other ABSC members were dominant in surfing contests and paddle races. From 1965 to 1968 the ABSC members won over 72 trophies in surf contests. Paddle race begins at 2:30 and the first 25 contestants to sign up on Saturday at the beach will be entered in the contest. Jack Skriver and his wife Teri Jernigan, owner of Dance And All That Jazz have donated money as prizes to the winners.

The party will continue at Ossies from 6:30 to 8:00 where free popcorn and videos by OPO member Casey Felton will be shown. The public is invited to join the surfers at the TasteeTiki cart enjoying delicious Hawaiian food and beverages in the beer garden and picnic tables at Ossies parking before the movies. OPO board member Tony Stein comments, “The best part of surfing is the enjoyment of watching other surfers surf…family, friends, visitors alike…you get a sense of their individual style, movement and level of ocean awareness. Everyone’s having a good time and that’s what makes the surfing community and lifestyle on the Central Coast so special!”