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	My Old Home Page thru June '04 About ME [Bill Andrews] and About This Site More Inane BA Dribble [BlogSpot]    Site Map - [This is like a Table of Contents / Quick Search] Thank you- To the person who entered: BA into the Wikipedia - This is pretty cool too: WWA Contact ME If you're having trouble using the above "Contact Me" link with your email provider, please just cut and paste the address below into the "To" line on your email message: adaywithba@gmail.com "Yesterday is History - Tomorrow is a Mystery - And Today is a Gift..."

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Photo of Mike Croteau by Jeff Divine

"Hi Bill,

Hope all is going great with you.

Was sorry to hear about Mike Croteau passing.

I always really liked him and he was truly one of those classic characters you meet every now and then in our surfing world.

About the time you used to do "wheelies" the full length of the Shores parking lot on your Bultaco, I remember Croteau came onto our radar screen.

I remember he used to snap blanks in frustration while shaping and impressed us on some giant days at Blacks.

Once he talked myself , Greg Durbin, Bob Bowden, Guy Hansen and other surfing friends into attending a cult meeting somewhere in El Cajon where we all sat around and listened to the cults exalted leader on a reel to reel tape recording. We pretended like we understood.

I remember you telling the story of when you drove to LA and bumped into another car while parking your big van. The guy in the other car started to verbally go off and mid sentence, Croteau burst out of the vans double back doors , looking like a Grecian warrior with Mohawk and flexed muscles while letting our a loud roaring sound. The verbal abuser quickly jumped back into his car and drove off in a panic !

When I lived on the North Shore of Oahu I remember he was one of the first guys I had seen who spray painted his car with grafitti. I don't remember what it said but it was classic in the sense that most haoles at the time would never try to draw attention to themselves. You might get a lickin. He was the most impressively built guy I had ever seen , even to this day.

I remember hearing about his motorcycle accident where the rancher had put a chain across the dirt road and he went full throttle into it ,almost slicing himself in half. No one could believe he had lived. While in the standard spot at the Shores , checking " Ledterman's lefts " there was a tap on my shoulder and I turned around to see the ghost of the Croteau that I remembered. He was really skinny and white as a sheet. He had that impish smile as he told me he was stoked to be alive.

Anyway , like " King Ting " I will always remember Croteau. What a great man he was .

He hung and traveled with many surf tribes from Santa Cruz, La Jolla and Hawaii. A below the radar surfing legend who added to the fabric of the sport.

Send contributions to:    Mike Croteau Memorial Fund- Box 1862, Soquel, CA, 95073

Thanks,

Jeff"

Thank you Jeff and I remember when I met Mike, I was managing Surf Scene, La Jolla, 1966 or so:

BA gets a phone call from some kid, about 3:00 pm: "I'm looking for a Hynson Model do you have one?"

BA: "I have one left, but it's a short one, it's only about 10' 2" long."

    MC: "I'll take it, hold it for me, my name's Mike."

BA: "Whoa there, how old are you?"

    MC: "I'm 17."

BA: "Well maybe this will be okay for you, by the way, how much do you weigh, the board's only 10-2"

    MC: "I'm 6'6" and I weigh 225 pounds."

BA: "This board ain't big enough, I ride a 10-6 and that's about right, I weigh 185 pounds."

    MC: "I want that board, I'm leaving now to pick it up!"

BA: "Where do you live?"

    MC: "I live in Newport Beach."

BA [this is before there is an I-5]: "You'll never make it, Wind**Sea is good right now, at 5:30 I'm closing the store, and going surfing!"

    MC: "I'll be there, I'll surf with you at Wind**Sea!"

It has come to my attention - or lack thereof - that not only am I getting older at an accelerated rate - but my eyes are aging faster than the trigger finger on my camera - and - my fingers on my trusty 1886 Smith Corona Typewriter

The blond in the photo below is an import from Hollywood - now that I've dug thru the rest of the photos in the sequence I have to sincerely apologize to Dr. Julie, Teddy, Uncle Harold [yes, I'll admit, I did fall flat on my face in the sand], Orloff [who does not need the surgery] and the rest of Julie's fans from all over the known surf world.

Dr. Julie is one heck of a surfer - and certainly surfs much better than I do - I am the last one who should be casting ANY dispersions on any surfer!

Additional photos of the Hollywood Surfette and her boyfriend who surfs without fins on his board [but he is way cool looking] will follow after I drink some Ensure.

There was a Gordon and Smith 50th Anniversary - The Prelude to the BIG event in October - today at Tourmaline.
The locals gave me a 2 hour pass to park, hang around, and shoot a few photos

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Naturally, the "auto settings" on my automatic focus top secret camera were off - it's always the song - never the singer.
Anyway, at least I was able to knock some cobwebs away and say hi to Larry and Floyd as well as to Sam Cody, Chuck Edwall, Lee Peterson and more and more.

Great to see all.

Part of the "Stuff" [besides the old guys] on display - Early 1960's price list

Photos 1
Photos 2

Photos - AM

About 45 years ago - there was a new generation of WindanSea surfers - David Rullo, Rod Sulprizio, Bobby Andrews, Tommy Ortner, Jon Close, Andy Tyler... and on and on
Their most notable traits - how they positioned themselves on the face of the wave - AND - how the held their hands
45 years later - the WindanSea surfers have brought back the positioning skills - Marco, Max, Jo Jo, Junior and on and on...
I can say with more than a bit of confidence: This is the BEST generation of surfers yet - AND - they ain't bad citizens either [much better than my generation]

AM Arena Photos

BA's still in the water - via surfinside.com

More BA | And More | And More | More | More Whew - too much of ME!

Eric Andrews - College Graduate!

Eric Andrews

Paige - Brian - Jen - Nick Andrews

Brian - Eric - Bill - Kris Andrews

Eric - Bill Andrews

Photos - Arena 1
Photos - Arena 2
Photos - Arena 3

Photos - Arena 1
Photos - Arena 2
Photos - Arena 3
Photos - Arena 4

PM in The Arena

Groms Gone Wild© 1
Groms Gone Wild© 2
Groms Gone Wild© 3
Groms Gone Wild© 4