Hundreds paddle out to honor surfing icon
Surfers and rowers gathered Friday around a Hobie Cat catamaran off Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, Calif., to celebrate the life of surf and sailing entrepreneur Hobie Alter. Hobie died March 29 in Palm Desert, Calif. He was 80.
DANA POINT, Calif. » Hundreds of surfers and rowers honored Hobie Alter’s request Friday by paddling out in the Pacific in his memory.
Alter, who died in March at age 80, revolutionized surfing by developing the foam surfboard that was lightweight and maneuverable. He is also credited with bringing masses to the water with his "Hobie Cat" sailboat.
On Friday, the Orange County Register reports, his family released bowls filled with soil brought from Hawaii, ocean water and sand from Waikiki Beach and rock salt.
During the Hawaiian paddle-out ceremony, surfers splashed water to the sky. The Orange County Harbor Patrol boat sprayed water, creating a rainbow.
Alter was memorialized on Huntington Beach’s Surfing Walk of Fame in 1997 and enshrined in the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2011.
