Surfing Heritage and Culture Center to host Hobie Alter at book signing for biographer Paul Holmes
By Andrea Swayne
The Surfing Heritage and Culture Center will host a book launch and signing party Saturday for Paul Holmes’ HOBIE: Master of Water, Wind and Waves, with special guest, Hobie Alter, himself.
The event is set for December 7 at SHACC, 110 Calle Iglesias, in San Clemente from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The 300-page book with 585 photographs will be available for purchase and may be autographed by Holmes. A portion of the proceeds from book sales will benefit SHACC.
The event will include music, appetizers and a no-host bar serving wine and beer.
Out of respect, SHACC asks that attendees refrain from asking Alter to autograph the book or any other memorabilia.
Holmes, a writer, historian and former Surfer magazine editor, said he feels strongly about the importance of telling the story of Hobie Alter, due both to the historic significance of his contributions to sailing and surfing and also because Alter’s life and persona are so fascinating.
“Hobie had a huge influence on surfing and sailing. The man is a genius, a natural born engineer, marketing maven, visionary. Without him, surfing especially would still be back in the dark ages. Larry Ellison (Oracle) mentioned Hobie Cat in his acceptance speech after winning the recent America’s Cup. How cool was that? There’s much more about foiling cats in the book. The evolution continues,” Holmes said.
“I still can’t quite understand how one man did so much in one lifetime. Surfboards, sailboats, radio-controlled gliders, the fastest trailerable monohull in the world (the Hobie 33 still wins TransPac races in its class) and so much more … What fascinates me most is how one man, with no big-deal education to speak of, could be so cool, so clever and so adept in tools and tinkering to forge a worldwide empire, almost casually, just because. The guy is a fricken rock star around the globe, so, like Madonna, Sting and Prince, he only needs one name—Hobie.”
For more information, contact SHACC at 949.388-0313 ext. 0 or see www.surfingheritage.org.
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