Like sets of waves rolling on shore at his beloved Sebastian Inlet, memories of the “Godfather of East Coast Surfing” Dick Catri are sure to well up at two events being organized to honor the legendary, longtime Melbourne Beach resident.
Catri, surfing pioneer and board manufacturer, along with Natural Art Surfboards founder Pete Dooley will be lauded for contributions to surfboard shaping and East Coast surfing at the third Boards and Waves Expo to be held June 3-4 at the Melbourne Auditorium; then on June 10 at a paddle out memorial at the Sebastian Inlet to celebrate the 79-year-old’s life, which ended on May 14 from complications caused by a series of strokes.
In 1957, Catri was introduced to surfing while he was performing as a high diver; he visited Hawaii the following year to try to ride the world-class waves.
He had moved to South Florida as a child from New Jersey and always loved being in and around the ocean.
He opened Catri Surfboards in 1968 in Cocoa Beach and in the early 1970s founded American Professional Surfing tour, organized and promoted surfing contests and continued surfing competitively. He was inducted into both the International Surfing Hall of Fame and the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame.
“It’s appropriate to have the paddle out there because that was his Inlet. He was part of the first surfers who surfed Sebastian Inlet and he was a boat captain and went in and out of it. That was his stomping grounds,’’ said Catri’s friend, attorney Jack Kirschenbaum, a Satellite High grad and Cocoa Beach resident.
It’s the combination of relatively consistent waves and the warmth compared to more northern surfing locations that made Brevard the right area for surf shops and shapers. “On the East Coast, it’s probably the epicenter of surfing and Dick had a lot to do with that,’’ he said.
Sam Gornto, 68, of Indialantic was recruited by Catri as a teen for a team helping market Hobie surfboards made in California.
Catri had the foresight to gather the best surfers together into a team and take them up the East Coast to contests with boards, shirts and jackets where they often dominated.
“He was a marketer, a visionary person, a recruiter as well as a coach but at the same time he was personable. He was our friend and was able to give us advice,’’ Gornto said.
Bob Freeman, 68, of Melbourne admits he was not one of the stars but was pleased to have been recruited by Catri for the Hobie team.
He referred to him as Coach Catri even late in life, recalling the time Catri asked him to run interference and block for another more talented team mate (before there were rules prohibiting blocking).
“It was a real team, not just a bunch of guys. He would coach us hard before every heat,’’ Freeman said.
Matt Kechele, 54, of Melbourne Beach said another key is that Catri brought international surfers to the Space Coast for contests and encouraged local riders to go to Hawaii to hone their skills.
“He was always keen to lend some advice to younger surfers. He told all of us, if you really want to make it as a surfer, you have to make it to Hawaii. That really had an impact on me. I did 25 winters in a row on the North Shore trying to learn the waves,’’ he said.
Gone but not forgotten, the echoes of Catri’s influence reverberate with a healthy an active East Coast surf scene.
“He definitely left a footprint for us. He will be in our heart forever and will forever be known as the guy that really put East Coast surfing on the map,’’ Kechele said.
