Woodbridge Parker "Woody" Brown

[Mark Ramirez]

This Man was not necessarly directly involved in kneeboarding, except for taking a large wave on his knees occasionally, but Woody Brown passed away at the ripe young age of 96 Wednesday in his home in Maui. Born in New York in 1912, he moved out west to La Jolla with a new bride in 1937, and was one of the first people to pioneer surfing in San Diego. In 1939, his wife died during childbirth, and again Woody headed out west again, wanting to go to Tahiti, but got stranded in Hawaii, because the government was not handing out visas before WWII. He stayed in Hawaii most of his life were he made the prototype of the catamaran, and was a pilot who knew the likes of Charles Lindbergh. He was also one of the first to surf the North Shore. He along with teenager Dickie Cross, decided to ride Sunset Beach, where the surf appeared to be 10 feet. The waves came up quickly, and a half-hour later the two surfers found themselves paddling out, more than a half-mile from the beach, with 25 foot waves exploding in their wake. The sun was getting low and the surf was still building when Brown told Cross they'd have to paddle three miles down the coast to Wiamea Bay, where they might be able to get in through a deep-water channel. But the Wiamea channel was impassable. Cross made a break for the beach, but was caught by a set of 40 foot waves, never to be seen again. Brown, meanwhile was rolled by a dozen or more breaking waves, washed up into shallow water, and was dragged to safety by a group of soldiers who happened to be on the beach. Brown never again surfed the North Shore, and the harrowing Brown/Cross tale kept surfers away from the area for years. He survived 2 wives and has 5 children from 3 wives. RIP Woodbridge Brown.

[Jerry]

We should all be as fortunate ( blessed ) as Woody. R.I.P. indeed