Q: Why do they call certain surfers “goofy footers?”

                                                 – Made-up Question Poser

A: That’s a good question, Made-up – one I’ve often thought about myself.

The term applies to a surfer who puts his/her right foot forward while standing on a board. Since most people put their left foot forward, I thought maybe the name implies others are goofy in some way. Kind of like, I don’t know — someone who bats left handed.

A more obvious answer would seem to have something to do with Goofy, the Disney character. But then that seems too obvious, right?

So I did a little research, and when I typed in phrases like “Why is it called goofy foot?” and “where does the term goofy foot come from” into Google, I quickly discovered that know one else apparently cares. Because I couldn’t find any answer.

But then one day, I was watching DVD extras from some Disney movie, and I saw a clip from the 1937 animated short “Hawaiian Holiday,” where Goofy is seen surfing. And, sure enough, Goofy is a goofy footer.

And, presumably, that’s where the term derives.

So there you have it, Made-up Question Poser. Thanks for asking.

 By the way, check out that old school board Goofy is riding. Classic!

****

Send your surf questions to ppemberton@thetribunenews.com, and I’ll try to answer them. Or just look it up on the Internet.

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A while ago, I told you how I had spotted Santa surfing at Pismo Beach. Well, apparently, the folks at CNN’s Headline News found out about it, too. They aired the Big Guy surfing at Pismo throughout the day on Christmas Eve. So check it out.

I thought maybe Santa might come back to SLO County after the big day. But I called his press contacts, and they told me he was already working on next year’s list. For a moment, I almost felt sorry for him. But then I was like, Hey — I’m working, too!

Since this is a pretty relaxed day, a lot of you are probably killing time online. So here’s a fun photo gallery by South County surf photographer Chris Burkard. The gallery, featuring shots around the world, is currently featured on Surfline.com, where Burkard works as a senior photographer.  

Santa Photo: Joe Johnston

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It must be getting close to Christmas. This morning I awoke to frost on the ground. And just yesterday, I spotted the Jolly Fat Man himself — getting the Stoke in Pismo Beach.

At first I wasn’t quite sure if my eyes were working, so I did a mental checklist: red suit, beard, bellowing.

Then I took out my camera phone and snapped a few photos:

 So, yeah, here’s the Big Man, walking with what appears to be a fun shape board. My first thought upon seeing this was: Santa seems to have slimmed down this year. But, you know, maybe he trains a lot as the big day approaches. An elf’s gotta have endurance, you know.

Later, he was spotted on the pier. Apparently, he thought there was a roller coaster there, but I had to tell him that this was Pismo Beach — not Santa Monica. He was a little disappointed, but his spirits seemed to lift when I told about some of the other things he could could do around here.

So then I was like, “Hey, Santa — are you really gonna surf or is that a gift you’re giving to someone?” Of course, in the back of my mind, I was thinking: Because, you know, I’d never turn down a free surfboard. And he just sort of looked at me and winked.

That was it — he winked. And the next thing you know, he was paddling out on a 3- to 4-foot day.  He wasn’t the best surfer out there, but, hey — it’s not like the North Pole is known for it’s waves.

Of course,  I was a little surprised because I’m thinking, you know, it’s gotta be close to crunch time, right? But those of us who surf know what a great stress reliever surfing can be. And any job that entails delivering toys to kids worldwide in one day has to entail some stress.

Later,  I found that Santa apparently had listened to my suggestions for things to do here and decided he needed to relieve stress a little more. 

Who knew Santa had a skateboard?

So for all those doubters, here is proof. Yes, indeed — Santa is a surfer.

I hear there will be further proof — video and photos — on this site next week, so stay tuned.

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I’m headed for a week off, which was intended to be a staycation with plenty of surf opportunities. But with more big swell forthcoming (Surfline says it’s up to 10 foot in Morro Bay this morning), we’ll have to play it by ear.

Last weekend I found myself watching a few daring souls test the heavy waters in Cayucos. There were a few good barrels but mostly a lot of hard wipeouts that didn’t exactly make me want to paddle out. Apparently, it was even bigger and thicker the next day when Tribune web editor Brian Milne was out shooting photos with his new Cannon. Check out his cool photo gallery here. (That fat wave above is from Cayucos Pier.)

For those, like me, who chicken out when it comes to big waves, you can still get the Stoke next Thursday, when the first annual Surf Symposium takes place at Downtown Brew in SLO. The night will feature a board shaping seminar with local shaper Shane Stoneman, who will also perform some of his mellow music with guest musicians backing him. (Click here to see a video I put together of Stoneman.) Trevor Povah’s local film “Lost in the Middle” will also be screened, and there will be surf giveaways.

Photo: Brian Milne

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So I loaded my board into the car Saturday, then hauled out to the beach, only to find that it was huge out there.

I guess that big swell arrived a little early. Because at A-Beach in Morro Bay it looked to be a good 12- to 15-foot. And, well – that’s a few feet bigger than I’d like it to be.

It was a little smaller at Cayucos Pier, but the waves were punishing. So I watched a few guys get mangled and headed to the Rock, where I overheard a park guy say the Harbor Patrol had to rescue a surfer earlier.

So no surf for me this weekend.

But to get you Stoked, I recently did a surf video of local slider Jaime Hannula. Check it out here.

Hannula is leaving this month for Australia to compete in the ASP tour. Once ranked #9 in North America, she hopes to win at least one big contest as a pro.

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As a surfer, my dream is to one day surf down a big pile of potatoes in Idaho.

Okay, maybe not. But a couple of Australians did this because, well — they wanted to surf.

And they were in Idaho.

And that’s pretty much the premise of the movie “Surfing 50 States,” which will be featured in two screenings at the Palm Theatre Friday. The movie follows two Australian surfers, Jonno Durrant and Stefan Hunt, as they come to America and attempt to surf in every state.

Obviously, that’s do-able in states like California and Hawaii. But it’s a little more challenging in, say, Idaho.

But, as Durrant told NPR during their quest, “As long as we’re standing on a surfboard, we’re counting that as surfing.”

That may be bending the rules. But who doesn’t want to see quirky Aussies surfing irrigation ditches? Whatever they “surfed,” the film makers tried to do something that represented the state they were in.

Hence the potatoes. And lakes. And stairs.

As their plans progressed the two managed to get sponsors, including surf company Hurley, which provided them with a vehicle – a 1987 GMC ice cream truck that actually plays 32 ice cream truck songs. The truck didn’t always run, but it did provide a place to sleep some nights (though the Aussies usually found people willing to give them shelter.)

I haven’t seen the movie, but the clips look silly and fun. While many surf movies explore travel, this is pretty much the first to explore surf travel in places without surf.

When their trip was over, the two surfers said some of their best waves were in Alaska (6-foot cold waves) and Alabama.

We’ll see if they paddle out in San Luis Obispo County. Both Durrant and Hunt are expected to be at Friday’s screening to promote the movie, which opens this week.

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So when you interview a surfer at the beach, and it’s a nice day, with good waves and sunshine, it just wouldn’t be right not to dip in the water yourself, right?

This morning, I spoke to Jaime Hannula, an up-and-coming surfer, who is going to be traveling the world competing on the pro tour. Since I also wanted to shoot some video for our web site, I had her get in the waves at Pismo Beach. (Paid parking — Grrrrr!) Of course, I didn’t consider that it was Veteran’s Day — ergo, no school — so the lineup was packed.

After a few waves, I had her move to Shell Beach, where it was pretty mellow. After seeing Hannula catch all those waves, I imterviewed her and decided I needed a little Stoke of my own.

Now I’m back at work, a little tired and mellow but totally stoked. Ten years ago, I couldn’t have imagined surfing on my lunch break.

Or surfing at all since, you know — not a lot of waves in Indiana.

Anyway, since I’m a little tired, instead of posting a long blog of insightful/witty/inspiring stuff, I’m going to include this link, which features some of the cutest photos I’ve ever seen. If you’re depressed, bankrupt, deathly ill or whatever, these photos — from the Sun in the U.K. — will brighten your day at least for a few seconds.

 Photo: The Sun

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Someone once said, “Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.”

And then someone else — probably a wise guy — said, ”Until you get sued by a high-priced attorney for intellectual property rights, beat the case because it lacked merit but nonetheless wind up having to dish out thousands in legal fees, forcing you to sell both your house and the big screen TV.”

I say all of this not because I’m making some point about intellectual property rights (a very exciting topic, I should add).  I say it because I’m about to steal someone’s idea, and I want to make it seem like it’s ok to do that kind of thing.

You know that web site Stuff White People Like?

It’s pretty funny, huh? So funny the guy actually parlayed it into a book deal. And now he’s laughing all the way to the bank — which, by the way, is also something white people like.

 But I was looking at the book and site the other day, and I said: “Hey — this sounds more like it should be called ”Stuff Liberal White People Like.” (Some of the entries: “Having gay friends,” “Hating corporations,” “Hummus.”)

 And then, after a bit of pontification, I thought, “Hey — I should STEAL this idea for my blog and create a list of Stuff Surfers Like!” 

Except, to ward off lawyers, I’ll call it Things Surfers Like.

So without any further adieu, I’ve decided to launch the occasional Things Surfers Like series today, which will be published, basically, when I can’t think of ideas for my occasional Musical Memoirs series or when I can’t find any more surfing animals to write about.

Here’s my first Thing Surfers Like:

DUKE KAHANAMOKU

Kahanamoku was an Olympic swimmer, who popularized modern surfing, once saved the lives of eight men at sea and yadda, yadda, ho hum. But you don’t need to concern yourself with all those hard-to-remember facts. You just need to occasionally drop the name “Duke” in a sentence.

Example: “Let’s paddle out for Duke!”

If someone — some ignoramus — asks you who Duke is, cluck your tongue, roll your eyes and in an irritated voice say, “Dude — are you kidding me?”

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A few years ago, one of our neighbors had a pet duck.

It was really cool because we’d drive by the house every day, and we’d see the duck. Sometimes he’d be frolicking in his little duck pool. Other times he’d be waddling around the front lawn. And a few times we’d see him sitting at the fence, watching traffic and flapping his beak, as if telling everyone off.

Then one day we didn’t see the duck. And upon closer inspection, we saw a bunch of feathers, spread about the lawn. It was then that we thought: Maybe it’s not such a great idea to keep a pet duck. At least not in a fenced-in front lawn in a place known to have mountain lions.

Poor duck.

Anyway, since yesterday’s post revealed Bimbo the Surfing Elephant, I figured today I would work in surfing ducks. So check out the video below. Some YouTube commenters think it’s fake, but I don’t know — looks pretty real to me. Besides, ducks are known to be pretty good in the water.

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Some surfers complain whenever they see a kayaker in the water. But what really irks me is when I see an elephant in the lineup.

Because, trust me, you don’t want to be anywhere near a pachyderm when it wipes out.I say this not because I have a thing against elephants — although one elephant at the LA Zoo (You know who you are, Tubby!) once threw a large rock at me. 

I say it because one day, there could be swarms of elephants trying to get The Stoke.Check out that photo above. I found that while perusing the historic photos offered by the Los Angeles Public Library’s photo archive. The caption on the photo reads:

“Surfers at Santa Monica were a little startled on April 28, 1962, to see a water-skiing elephant. Five-and-a-half-year-old Bimbo, Jr., one of the animal stars of the De Wayne Bros. Circus at Pacific Ocean Park, has the rare distinction of being the youngest elephant to perform this remarkable feat.”

Did you catch that? Bimbo Jr. is the youngest elephant to water ski. So, presumably, there were (are???) many more, though perhaps older, elephants out there, frolicking in the water.

And, yeah, I know. You’re saying, “Well, Pat. That’s a photo of an elephant waterskiing. You said this elephat surfs.” And to this I say, first of all, “Stop talking to me through my own thoughts!” And then I say, “Check out this photo of Bimbo on a surf board,” and tell me Junior doesn’t surf:

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