The history of Carl Hayward

[Mike Fernandez]

Please stick to historical facts about the person, or well founded rumors, but no opinions (EI:I think George Greenough is great because he invented the spoon.) This does no good in attaining the history of the person.

[Mike Fernandez]

I remember Carl Hayward back in the late 70's as a soft spoken, easy going tall guy, who surfed like Mark Richards, with his long arms spread out, but didn't have the upturned hands. As a goofy footer, Carl ripped the South Side of the Huntington Beach Pier on his Rocket Fish, the design which would make him known.
Carl started his shaping career in Huntington Beach with Dyno, Sunline, Lightning Bolt, then went to work for Wayne Brown Surfboards. In 1979 he started Carl Hayward Surfboards with his friend Dwight Dunn, and $6000. They took over the Dyno shop after it went out of business.
Carl was well known for his twin fin, and for embracing the Rocket Fish design which standups, and kneeboarders used.
As coach of the Marina High School surf team, one of his standup students, Scott Farnsworth, went on to win the 1984 World Amateur Championships riding one of Carl's boards.
Carl also shaped some great Rocket Fish kneeboards, which a majority of SoCal kneeboarders in the late 70's and 1980's used with great success in contest surfing.
Carl's boards were used by at least three NSSA Kneeboarding National Champions, Tom Backer, Mike Fernandez, and Paul Doyle.
I was always amazed how perfect Carl's boards looked, the fine rails, the narrow based glassed in asymmetrical fins tilted over and toed in. I so believed in his shapes, that I even had his shop patch sewn onto my wetsuit. Carl supported kneeboarders, and he gave me great discounts on boards. Obviously he was well known internationally. I was in his shop one day when a group of Japanese surfers came in and bought nine boards. We were laughing, it pretty much cleared out his rack.
In 1988, Carl relocated to San Clemente, and worked with his friend Bob Hurley at Hurley International.
Carl passed away in January 2005 at the age of 48 from a brain aneurism he suffered while surfing the South Side of the Huntington Beach pier. Hundreds of people were in attendence for the paddle out and throwing of flowers.
Carl was married with three children.
Carl Hayward is a member of Huntington's, Surfer Walk of Fame, inducted in 2005 with fellow surfers: Tom Carroll, Bob McKnight, and Mark Richards.
RIP
Carl's brother Scott is a great kneeboarder, and a member of this forum.

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