Life is precious, and Charlie your precious life will be tremendously missed.
People called him ‘Malibu Charlie’, but he was also ‘Rincon Charlie’ when the summer swells had ceased and winter was in bloom. For a brief stint he was ‘Lune Point Charlie’ when a special ElNino lit up a rare gem for months on end in SB.
Charlie was a point guy and you’d always see his white van parked at these points when they were doing their thing.
Charlie seemed to just always be there when it was on…and I never really realized until today, how much comfort there was when you knew Charlie was there.
His presence was a laugh, a smile, some dry wit; a simple man with deep intellect combo-ed with an old soul and childlike lightheartedness in the lineup.
He seemed to always be on a wave gliding all the way down the point, to circle around and do it again, quietly smiling as he paddled back out.
Charlie loved surfing. He loved the beach, and he loved the point tribes. I met him when I was 12 years old.
The thruster had just been invented, and everyone wore bright wetsuits. The 80’s was in full swing, but not for Charlie; he rode a 70’s single fin downrailer swept back pin ala Lopez and MP. Charlie was the only guy I knew who had a black wetsuit with a beaver tail and wore his hair long.
We spent many many sessions together during the golden age of kiddie bowl…usually weekday afternoon sessions when the tide would bottom out and begin pushing back in over the cobbles. There always seemed to be a little window from the crowd then too.
I’ll never forget the first time we met. I was a prepubescent gremmy and Charlie was, well, Charlie just always seemed to be way old…even though he slid across the waves like a nimble 70’s throwback. We were sharing some second point runners just me and him, and he paddles over during a lull, smiling he goes, “Ya working on some style today I see…”
…that’s the day we became bros.
Since that day in 1986, Charlie has been like a kindred encouraging uncle, a wave share-er, fellow philosopher, comrade in understated humor and dispenser of deep belly gut laughter that cackles across the entire lineup.
During the Covid psyop, Charlie and I had views that agreed over what was happening in the world. Our hearts were heavy so we let our hair grow long and our beards go mangled. We both felt a weightiness of heart, so we let it show, but we also agreed to not let fear rule over us. 2020 was the year we really forged a special bond, kinda like soldiers during battle.
I could always count on Charlie to be living life outside the algorithm, beyond the news cycle. He grew close to God during that time. And Charlie loved people the way God does. He was a gentleman quietly going about his passion for the beach, for waves, for the tribe, for another beautiful day.
Charlie was a beautiful soul. Charlie is a beautiful soul.
Looking forward to seeing you again on the other side, and laughing, talking about the deep things of life and what a wonderful day it is…and sharing some waves.
–Todd Proctor
