Goodbye to one of H.B. surf legends

RICK FIGNETTI

It was a sad week in Huntington Beach last Friday as Surf City lost

one of its truly great surf pioneers.

Carl Hayward, the 48-year-old longtime respected surfer and

shaper, suffered a possible brain aneurysm while surfing his favorite

peak on the South Side of the pier. Surfers and lifeguards went to

his aid after seeing him floating unconscious in the water. Carl was

rushed to the beach and then to the hospital, where they were

unsuccessful in attempting to revive him.

Back in the ‘80s, when the surf scene was starting to happen, Carl

was a tall lanky kid who had the natural ability and style in his

surfing to move to the top. He had a surf shop on Main Street and was

definitely one of the best surfers in town. He ruled the pier, was

known around the world and had a patented slash back cutback that was

admired by many.

His surfing was radical for the time, but he was also known as

being one of the best paddlers around with his long arms. He could

catch anything, especially, if you had him in a heat at a surf

contest!

Carl won the Huntington city contest numerous times and was a

standout at the Kanvas by Katin Contest that was held on Northside

every year, back in the day.

Most guys would be happy being the best guy in the lineup, but

Carl pushed the limits even more, getting into the shaping scene too.

His shaping skills were on, and he could relate because he could surf

as well.

When twin fins caught on, we were looking for more freedom in

directional changes on the face of a wave. Carl was right on it with

his own version, called the “Rocket Fish,” that featured a pointier

nose and a deep swallow with longer wide base fins that worked

killer.

The way Carl surfed on those boards, most wanted to try them out.

I know, I’ve had a few of those magic shapes by him and so have a

lotta the town’s surfers over the years.

More recently, Carl was residing in San Clemente with his family,

who our prayers and thoughts go out to in these hard times.

Work-wise, Carl was also one of the main fixtures at Hurley

International, being there from the beginning as owner Bob Hurley

surrounded himself with some of the top core guys in the surf

industry from our area.

No doubt, Carl Hayward will be missed and will go down as one of

the legends in the Huntington Surf Scene. Services were held at

Heritage Christian Fellowship Church in San Clemente, where there was

a big turnout of the surf community, family and friends, last

Tuesday.

In lieu of flowers, you can send donations to the Hayward Family,

at 1001 Avenida Pico, Suite C315, San Clemente, CA 92673. There’s

also going to be a paddle out at the Huntington Pier at 11 a.m.

Sunday.

Last week’s overhead surf finally broke the flat spell we’ve had

for a month. The conditions were pretty epic for Wednesday, Thursday

and Friday, with sunny skies and hardly any wind either. The Cliffs

had the size, though, with some double overhead sets seen there. Even

Box Cars, the outer reef spot, was breaking with some surfers getting

a few big bombs on the mackers.

The rights were firin’ by the pier, even though it was a little

smaller with some head-high-plus jammers. And there was definitely

some current to paddle against, just to make sure you were getting

some good exercise.

Live life to the fullest and be nice to others, ‘cause you just

never know. See ya, Fig over and out.

* RICK FIGNETTI is an nine-time West Coast champion, has

announced the U.S. Open of Surfing the last 11 years and has been the

KROQ-FM surfologist for the last 18 years, doing morning surf

reports. He owns a surf shop on Main Street. You can reach him at

(714) 536-1058.