Windansea Surf Club members at Makaha Beach in 1963

History of the Windansea Surf Club

It was surf competition in the early 1960s that gave birth to the Windansea Surf Club. Six decades later, we still compete, still give back, and still paddle out at the same reef.

How it started

The 1963 Windansea team at Malibu
1963

The bus to Malibu

Chuck Hasley — who’d opened a Pacific Beach surf shop for Hobie Alter — got talking with Skip Frye, Mike Hynson and Bill Caster about the big club contest in Malibu. They recruited a team to surf under the Windansea banner. Joey Cabell, the Patterson brothers, Dave Willingham, L.J. Richards, Del Cannon, Butch Van Artsdalen, Rusty Miller and more piled into a rented bus, arrived at Malibu, and dominated.

Duke Kahanamoku greeting Windansea Surf Club members
1965

Going international

Under Executive Director Thor Svenson the club incorporated as a non-profit “promoting the sport of surfing and the positive image of surfers as athletes and good citizens.” Hawaiian, Mexican and Australian branches followed, and members starred in the surf films of the day. That same year the first Menehune gave local groms their own contest.

Club members gathered in a 1960s clubhouse
1981

The revival

The mid-’70s turned toward soul surfing and the club went quiet. In 1981 Steve Shaw, Bill Andrews, Jeff Junkins, Dave McIntyre and former Women’s World Champion Debbie Beacham revived the original non-profit and, with many charter members, re-established the club as it is today.

Windansea Surf Club members together on the beach at a recent contest
Today

Still charging, still giving

The club has dominated the Coalition of Surfing Clubs circuit, counting Kelly Slater, Joel Tudor, Peter King, Joe Roper, Richard Kenvin and Saxon Boucher among its members. And the charity work never stopped: Day at the Beach, teaching Special Olympics athletes to surf, water patrol for the La Jolla Rough Water Swim and more.

Timeline

1946

The shack goes up

Woody Ekstrom, Fred Kenyon and Don Okey build the palm-covered shack at Windansea.

1963

Malibu

A rented bus full of Windansea surfers dominates the big club contest. Hot Curl appears on the rocks.

1965

Non-profit & the first Menehune

The club incorporates, and 11-year-old Margo Godfrey wins the first Menehune at La Jolla Shores.

1967

Endorsed by the Governor

Governor Ronald Reagan endorses Thor Svenson and the club for sportsmanship at home and abroad.

1970

Michael Ho

An 11-year-old from Hawaii who took “Most Versatile” in 1969 comes back to win the Menehune overall.

1981

Revived

Charter members and a former Women’s World Champion bring the club back to life.

1998

Landmark

The Surf Shack at Windansea Beach is designated a San Diego historical landmark.

1999

Menehune returns

The club revives the Menehune — and starts a run of Coalition tournament titles.

2014

Ocean Advocacy

Jim Neri founds the Ocean Advocacy & Youth Leadership program for juniors.

2023

Duke’s

The first Duke’s fundraiser. By 2026 it’s the party of the year.

Windansea in surf lore

Butch Van Artsdalen in the 1960s wearing a horned helmet

Hot Curl

In 1963 Michael Dormer and Lee Teacher built a six-foot, 400-pound version of their Hot Curl cartoon out of cement, iron, a mop, a light bulb and a beer can. He appeared on the rocks over Windansea, beer in hand, looking for the perfect wave.

The Windansea shack in black and white

The Shack

Built in 1946 by Woody Ekstrom, Fred Kenyon and Don Okey. Designated a historical landmark by the San Diego Historical Resources Board on May 27, 1998.

Waves rolling into Windansea beach

The Pump House Gang

The title essay of Tom Wolfe’s The Pump House Gang is about a group of Windansea surfers. Kirk Lee Aeder’s Child of the Storm (2012) tells the life of the late Windansea surfer Chris O’Rourke.

Charter members

Named on the 1963 roster. Butch Cornelius, the club artist, originated the Windansea logo you still see on every shirt.

A large vintage group photo of Windansea Surf Club members
  1. 01Mike Akin
  2. 02John Andersen
  3. 03Bob Bermel
  4. 04Mike Burner
  5. 05Boscoe Burns
  6. 06Robert Burns
  7. 07Joey Cabell
  8. 08Del Cannon
  9. 09Tom Carlin
  10. 10Bill Caster
  11. 11Gary Cook
  12. 12Butch Cornelius
  13. 13Norm Costello
  14. 14John Creed
  15. 15Bill David
  16. 16Phil Edwards
  17. 17Carl Ekstrom
  18. 18Skip Frye
  19. 19Bill Graham
  20. 20Chuck Hasley
  21. 21John Holly
  22. 22Mike Hynson
  23. 23Mickey Madden
  24. 24Rusty Miller
  25. 25Alan Nelson
  26. 26Raymond Patterson
  27. 27Robert Patterson
  28. 28Ronald Patterson
  29. 29John Pettit
  30. 30Mark Poitras
  31. 31LJ Richards
  32. 32Wally Robinson
  33. 33Harry Schurch
  34. 34Loren “Root” Swan
  35. 35Butch Van Artsdalen
  36. 36Dave Willingham
  37. 37Thor Svenson
  38. 38Lee Louis

Board of directors

President
Marnie Cheney
Vice President
Emma Belle Lhuillier
Secretary
Jason Tuschen
Treasurer
Harold Reid
Director at Large
Mark Feighan
Director at Large
Chip Hasley
Director at Large
Andy Prado

Past presidents

Every name that has held the gavel since Chuck Hasley.

  1. Chuck Hasley1963–67
  2. Ricky Grigg1968–69
  3. Bill Mount1970–71
  4. Jeff Junkins1981
  5. Bill Andrews1982
  6. Hans Newman1983–85
  7. Robb Luscomb1986–87
  8. George Taylor1988–91
  9. Bob Pierce1992
  10. Jon Roseman / Jim Neri1993
  11. Zach Hitchcock1994–95
  12. Ozstar DeJourday1996–2002
  13. Dan Grunow2003
  14. Randy Lind2004–05
  15. Gordon Dunfee2006
  16. Tifani Van Artsdalen-Kahn2007
  17. Karl Luber2008
  18. Tim Graham2009–11
  19. Harold Reid2012
  20. Ozstar DeJourday2013
  21. Chip Hasley2014–17
  22. Bill Fitzmaurice2018–22
  23. Marnie Cheney2023–

Start here

General meetings are the third Wednesday of every month at the VFW. Reach out and we’ll point you in the right direction.

Get in touch