Featured Bodysurfer: Joseph A. Lane
Age: 44
Years of experience: 37 (started bodysurfing at Newport Beach and
Del Mar)
Favorite spots: Del Mar, Point Panic, Sandy Beach, Zuma Beach
Best contest results: 2nd place (relay team), Carlsbad International
Bodysurfing Contest, August 1995
Strengths: proficient at underwater take-offs, keeps his back to the
wave and stays high, courage in big waves
Brief Biography: Brought up in the San Fernando Valley, Joseph was
groomed on such breaks as Santa Monica, Corral, and Zuma Beach. In
his early teens, he bodysurfed the Wedge and 56th street on south
swells. At thirteen years old he was riding ten foot plus waves (as
measured from the backside). Known for his acumen in large surf,
Joseph was one of the few bodysurfers to actually take off on the
infamous 1972 summer swell that hit Zuma beach--a swell so large
that the beach was closed by the Los Angeles County lifeguards.
Perhaps Joseph's greatest claim to fame was when he bodysurfed Point
Panic on an eight-foot swell along with two tiger sharks which were
cruising the line-up. Instead of getting out of the water, Joseph
simply used the shark's tails to hydrofoil in on the jetty....
E-mail The Neural Surfer directly
at dlane@weber.ucsd.edu
I want to go back to the home base now.
