Return to the Surf
by Sheri Crummer
There is a significance in my world to the 1976 Malibu Hang Ten Pro. I moved into the throws of Los Angeles, quit surfing and was playing music for a few years in the mid 1970s. After a few years I was feeling something missing within, unsettled. Then the ocean stired and I could feel the salt water beckoning. I dusted off my surfboard and headed to Malibu.
I hadn’t been following surfing and didn’t know there was a contest coming up. I arrived and to my surprise there were hoards of women in the water practicing to the 1976 Malibu Hang Ten.
I hit the water, revitalizing every fiber of my being. Paddling out for the first time in three years I saw Debbie Melville-Beacham take off and rip a wave to shreds. Stoked beyond belief I thought to myself, “I can do that”. Reality set in after I caught my first wave and fell. I hadn’t been in the water for a long time and time had taken its toll on my abilities.
Debbie had sparked the fire inside for surfing again, the warmth of fire that I had been longing for. I continued to get back in the water after that session and in 1980 moved back to the south coast and started competing again.
We never know when one simple act of another can spark something in another for change. Thank you Debbie Melville-Beacham!
Hang Ten Women’s Pro 1976 Photos
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