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| Per Tom Allen Sena: "dory surf play...one of the boats in the big waves, and doing good." Pismo Beach Clam Festival Dory Race, Feb. 26, 1975. Photo by Bob Howe. Used here with permission. |
"Back in the day"... as Veteran LACo Recurrent, Chuck Locko, would say... there were winter dory races (circa 1970's) that our beach lifeguard - warrior class would participate in. One such event were the dory races around the pier during the annual Pismo Beach Clam Festival. "County Recurrent" was told of this event by lifeguard story spinmaster, John Thomas, recently. It captured our attention and enthusiasm and we just had to write about it and share it with our brothers and sisters. JT rowed with Bill Powers in 1975 at the Clam Festival Dory Race and his recollection of that race is a story for the ages and he is currently in the process of transcribing that event. In the meantime...
Where to start... Some Google searches got us thinking it was in October. Turns out "back in the day" the Clam Festival was held in February. This was the case in 1975 when huge surf and cold water caused the powers that be to cancel the dory races because of the extreme conditions and the reasoned opinion that there could be substantial injuries. Nevertheless, the majority of the dory crews voted to race anyways... doesn't that just sound like a boatie?!... A couple of teams said "No way!"... but the rest of the lot which included teams from L.A. City, Santa Monica City, L.A. County and a few others went ahead and battled the ocean with some very exciting and disastrous results.
Do we have your attention now?!... :-)
So we interrogated John Thomas and got the names of other lifeguards who participated or attended this dory debutante-not weekend, and heard some infamous names, including but not limited to, Jimmy Doman, Bill Powers, Tom Allen Sena and his brother Randy Allen, Ralph Collins, Tom Snyder, Randy Steigely, Bob Howe, Charlie Acker, Steve Saylors, Ron Richmond, Tom Kiesewetter, Bill Barker, Richard Mark, Terry Flanagan, Guy Wells, Steve Snyder, Paul Matthies, and others..... Phil Topar says he wasn't there but Tom Kiesewetter swears he rowed with Topar at Pismo that year... so the jury is out, though we think Topar is repressing the whole thing... In other words, a massive and incredible congregation of testosterone fueled Southern California lifeguards!
--- To Be Continued! ---
:-)
OK, just kidding! We've received some replies to our email pleas for details so we will whet your appetites, as follows:
• Per Terry Flanagan:
"I was there but I did not row. Huge waves and really dangerous. Check with Mark Thompson, Jim Doman, or JT."
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• Per John Thomas:
"YEA, I ALWAYS THOUGHT TOPAR WAS AT EVERY ONE OF THOSE THINGS.... BUT LOOKING BACK, HE MAY STILL HAVE BEEN A STATE GUARD THEN. BEFORE HE JOINED LA COUNTY.... NOW I REMEMBER STEIGLEY /SNYDER, I RECALL CHARLEY ACKER AND RANDY ALLEN.... TOM ALLEN WAS THERE AS WELL WITH DOMAN ( I HAVE HIS PICTURE TAKEN THERE) BILLY BARKER AND BOB HOWE WERE THERE AS WELL..."
Also, Per JT, regarding Ron Richmond rowing with Steve Saylor at Pismo:
I WAS SPEAKING TO RON RICHMOND RECENTLY AND WE WERE TRYING TO RECALL WHO HAD WON THE RACE. HE CANT REMEMBER IF HE AND STEVE SAYLORS MIGHT HAVE WON.... HE REMEMBERED THEIR WARM UP.... HE AND STEVE ROWED OUT AND TRIED TO MAKE IT THROUGH A TEN FOOT SET, THE DORY WENT UP THE FACE OF A WAVE AND WAS PITCHED/HURLED THROUGH THE AIR. RON REMEMBERS BEING IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BOAT FLYING THROUGH THE AIR FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE IMPACTING THE WATER. IT TOOK HIM AND STEVE QUITE A TIME TO GET THE BOAT TURNED OVER IN THE FIVE TO EIGHT FOOT OF WHITE WATER. BY THE TIME THEY GOT THE BOAT TO THE BEACH AND COLLECTED THE OARS, THEY WERE HYPOTHERMIC FROM THE 52 DEGREE WATER. THAT WAS THEIR WARM UP. RON ALSO WON THE PADDLE BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONLY GUY TO MAKE IT OUT. WHEN THE RACE STARTED, HE RAN DOWN TO THE PIER AND PADDLED OUT UNDERNEATH THE PILINGS. HE AVOIDED THE IMPACT OF THE SURF BY HIDING BEHIND THE PILES, LETTING THEM TAKE THE BRUNT OF THE IMPACT. THE SURF WAS SO LARGE IT WAS FILLING UP ALL THE SPACE UNDERNEATH THE PIER AND CRUSHING RON UP AGAINST THE BOTTOM. HE RECALLED THINKING, "OH SHIT, I'M PROBABLY GOING TO DIE " BUT HE MADE IT OUT FAR ENOUGH TO CUT OVER AND CLEAR THE TOPS OF THE OUTSIDE SETS. EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE RACE WAS EITHER WASHED BACK UP ON THE BEACH OR HOLDING ONTO THE THEIR BOARDS ON THE INSIDE GETTING THE SHIT POUNDED OUT OF THEM.... I'M TELLIN YA IT WAS HELL OF A DAY...
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• Per Ralph Collins (who rowed with Tom Allen):
"I remember the festival very well. I rowed there a couple of years and one of them had tremendous surf. I rowed with Tom and the day before the dory race we practiced ins and outs. The waves were steep shorebreaks and if you got caught in the wrong position you would have terrible end over end wipeouts. This happened to us on several occasions but there was one that I will never forget and we had a horrible wipeout. This spooked the shit out me. Thankfully, we learned to back off the peaking waves and ride the whitewater. It was impossible to prevent the boats from broaching.
I recall this same afternoon was when Powers and Barker wiped out in the Hobie Cat. I can still see it. I thought the Hobie belonged to Powers and he was not happy with all the damage. They were lucky not to have been seriously injured.
Editor's note: Just in from Bob Howe, who took the three photos below showing the surf and the waves that the described Hobie Cat encountered that day in 1975. Per Bob Howe: "(that) was Bill Powers and Bill Barker trying to sail Bill (Powers) Hobie thru the surf without enough wind and getting nailed by a wave overturning the boat in the surf line."
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| Photo by Bob Howe. Used here with permission. |
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| Photo by Bob Howe. Used here with permission. |
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| Photo by Bob Howe. Used here with permission. |
Maybe the others will remember the crowd of 'yahoos' that arrived from Bakersfield the day of the race. There was almost a riot when a couple of girls (who I won't name) took their tops off and flashed the crowd. Great mammories...
Who was the person that brought the kites?? Does anyone remember how he spooked the horse while flying the kite?
Doman should remember....
Kind regards: R. Collins"
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• Per Bill Barker:
Hi Will,
Yes I remember it well. Bob Howe and Bill Powers brought their Hobie 16's up to Pismo for the early season dory races. Bob Howe and I were going in and out of the surf in the morning when the wind was still blowing strong. The surf was pretty good size and was breaking out far enough so you could pick your spot on where to punch out through the surf without getting killed. It was great fun until the wind started to back off and that made going in and out of the surf a bit more fun... Powers decided that he wanted to go out through the surf a few times just as the wind almost dropped off completely and the surf got bigger. I was Powers deck hand in the Hobie destruction pictures. I remember telling him that it wasn't good going out without a strong wind but he still wanted to and so we went....We got out about half way when one of the outside clean up waves hit us. I looked up to see the wave breaking half way up the mast and then the Hobie went back over the falls, breaking the rudders and the mast off. It was a lot of fun.
Later,
Bill Barker
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• Per Tom Kiesewetter:
"I remember being at Pismo and I could swear I rowed with Topar but Phil, by his statement below, doesn't seem to remember. What is that old saying? If you remember the 60's then you didn't live them."
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• Per Phil Topar:
"In regards to Pismo Beach, I never rowed there, but Steve Saylors/Ron Richmond, Randy Allen/Charlie Acker, Steigley/Snyder.....rowed there in huge, rolling surf in the mid 70's."
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• Per Mark Spyder Thompson, Ph.d:
"I have no recollection of the day, other than a vague memory of a splintered dory, stopping to clean up the Lizard's puke in the well behind the front seat of T's bug, the aforementioned destroyed Hobie, and large, very large (12'+) surf...."
• Per Tom Allen Sena:
"The year of the big surf was 1975... The highlight was beautiful big surf, sunny weather, lots of good friends there for the weekend..."
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| Per Tom Allen: "This is a photo of myself (stern) and Ralph Collins (bow), bustin' out through the surf. This appears to be during the race." Photo courtesy of Tom Allen and used here with his permission. Photo by Bob Howe. Feb. 26, 1975. |
"Why does the Pismo Beach Chamber of Commerce invite the "Dorymen" to the annual Pismo Clam Festival each year, because OMG what a spectacle! The Pismo Beach Pier is crowded with cheering spectators, as are all the other piers down the So. Cal Coast, where cities host festivals, and Lifeguards race surf Dory's 16-18 times each summer. The crowds love it, and the lifeguards have a blast. Modern day gladiators?
What do the lifeguards get for their effort, $50-$100K prize money like triathletes? Nah, maybe a trophy, a lot of fun, staying in great shape, and drinking beer with your friends and other lifeguard mates every week.
The Pismo Clam Festival is all of that, plus the boys of '75 & 76 brought their Hobie Cats to challenge the surf with as well!"
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Additionally, "County Recurrent" sent a research request for which we forked over $60 to the San Luis Obispo (SLO) County Library to do some microfiche research of the local newspaper and the research librarian struck gold when she discovered that the Clam Festival was held in February "back in the day" rather than in October as we had thought. Check out the photos that the librarian provided us with.
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| Photo courtesy of SLO Library. This photo is from Page 9 of the Five Cities Times-Press-Recorder, February 26, 1975 |
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| Photo courtesy of SLO Library. This photo is from the cover of the Five Cities Times-Press-Recorder, February 26, 1975 |
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| Photo courtesy of SLO Library. Per Lynn Wiech, Research Librarian at the SLO County Library: "This (photo) was out of a special "edition" included with the Feb. 26, 1975 Five Cities Times-Press-Recorder entitled "Clam County Clam Festival Souvenir Edition Part 1 Feb.22,23 [1975]". As such, that picture was probably taken the year before." |
That's it for now, folks! We want to thank each of the above-referenced and quoted lifeguards for their participation and a special thanks to Research Librarian, Lynn Wiech, of the SLO County Library for her research skills and findings.
10-4
Until next time.....
"County Recurrent" News
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