Hi Paul,
You probably know that Mike Eaton died a week after Phil
Becker. Another shaper/mentor to me, but not as much as Phil. Still we
had some great times together, seeing him develop the twin-fin shapes.
He was twinning conventional shapes and finally got frustrated and just
sawed the back off one day. Becker made a 6 ft something version two
days later which I surfed at Rincon with frustration. My low-railer was
at home and the twinnie wouldn't project down the line at all. I
alternated knee riding to project the turns, then standing up to make
maneuvers. A week later I had a 5'8" out of a reject blank
shaped by Phil. probably the shortest board around for a while. I
surfed it at Manhattan Pier all summer. I put 3 fin boxes (homemade) in
it, but quickly stayed a twin.
I'm sure Mike was aware of
Simmon's shapes since he was surfing during that time. Mike was also a
naval architect and designed early catamarans that sailed from Calif to
Hawaii. I still have a set of sketches he made giving me hints on how to
shape Bonzers. And some interesting fin templates with large end lobes
and fairly narrow "stalks".
I surfed the biggest waves of my
life at Jalama with Mike and Keith Paul, "island 10 ft" terrifying!
That's where I finally decided that I was a "6 ft and under surfer" like
Corky Carrol famously said. That trip makes a really good story about
surf adventure and mis-adventure! It was wackiness and terror mixed
together.
Mike was scientific methodical and very generous
with his hard found knowledge. Another quiet person and consummate
craftsman. I worked with him at Rick's and would walk across the street
to Bing's to talk to him when he moved there.
These people's lives made a very positive impact on the world. Like you are doing right now, they left a legacy of total stoke!
I'll celebrate them by riding waves in a joyous manner.
Speed Shaper
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