From an early age, it was evident that Craig had a spark of genius. School left him bored to tears. Perhaps that is why he dedicated his life to teaching — to share with students the miracles of life and the thrill of learning. But if there was one thing he might have loved even more than teaching, it was surfing.
Craig Angell was first introduced to surfing at an early age, and it remained a focus his entire life. Craig’s father, Buck, a successful screenwriter for ’50s television shows such as Rawhide, and his mother, the actress Grace Wise, raised their three sons in the backcountry up Malibu Canyon where the waves of the Pacific below beckoned. To be closer to the surf scene, Craig moved into a friend’s garage in the gated Malibu Colony during high school. It was an exciting place where he could awaken to Jascha Heifetz practicing his violin and spend evenings talking about life with the great screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause, Stewart Stern. But he had come to the Colony to surf — and surf he did.
Although Malibu Point, the birthplace of modern surfing, was just around the corner, Craig and his cadre of friends surfed the Colony almost every day. For adventure, they would hitchhike with their boards to Point Dume or down to Topanga Beach, where he became one of the original Topanga Bombers. After high school he moved to Maui, surfing uncrowded Honolua Bay in the late ’60s. Then onto the bigger waves of the North Shore of Oahu.
It turned out Craig had already met the love of his life, Jane Berlin, in junior high when he gave her his Saint Christopher’s medal. So after a year, he returned from Hawai‘i, and Craig and Jane finally hooked up for good. They traveled to Bergamo, Italy, in 1971 with their close friends Jim and Frances Fitzpatrick to study at the famed school started by Maria Montessori and run by her son Mario.
In 1975, Craig and Jane settled in Santa Barbara, where the Fitzpatricks had just opened the first Montessori School in the area. As teachers, they committed their lives to inspiring their students. For Craig, that meant tailoring his teaching creatively to each child’s needs. A wonderful storyteller, he was able to hold his students enraptured. Many local parents, former students, and their own sons, Trevor and Max, continue to express their gratitude for the excitement both Craig and Jane were able to bring to their classrooms.
Around that same time, Surf Clubs were springing up again along the California Coast. The Santa Barbara County Surf Club was originally formed to provide a select few with access to the heavily guarded and famed Hollister Cattle Ranch, which offered some of the most outstanding surf breaks on the planet. That club was forced to disband in the early ’70s when the ranch was sold and subdivided, and only the new owners got access to the beach.
But longboarding was also making a comeback in the surf world, with contests opening up everywhere. It was known as “a gathering of the tribes,” where only surfers who belonged to clubs could enter the competition. In that spirit, the Santa Barbara County Surf Club was reborn one evening at the Paradise Café when a few of the original members got together with other dedicated surfers in the county. One of them was Craig Angell. This new era of the surf club was beautifully documented by Craig, who wrote newsletters that were true gems.
I had first met Craig surfing at Rincon in the mid ’80s. He was a beautiful surfer. Smooth, flowing, stylish. His skill in the water was noted by surfboard companies who sponsored surf teams. Craig was asked to represent the prestigious Infinity Surfboard company from Dana Point. It was during this time that Craig seriously injured his knee at a competition. It kept him out of the water for a long time, and he never quite regained his earlier grace.
Instead, Craig asked Steve Boehne, the owner of Infinity Surfboards, to teach him how to shape. In the summer months, Craig would drive down to Steve’s shop in Orange County, spending many nights living in his beat-up VW bus, so he could learn the skill of shaping. He was a quick learner, a perfectionist, and a true craftsman.
It was not long before Craig Angell Surf Boards was born in a shaping room across the street from Patagonia in Ventura. He quickly developed a following in the waters of the 805 — among them, a handful of women who lovingly referred to themselves as Craig’s Angels.
I first ordered a board from Craig in 2000. It was pure magic, and I never looked back. Besides longboards, Craig shaped high-performance short boards and everything in between.
Shaping a surfboard with its many curves is very complex. It is rare in our world of materialism and mass production to be able to own a product that is specifically designed and handcrafted, not just for an individual surfer, but for the specific waves where it must perform.
It was beautiful to watch Craig shape. Like a tai chi master, he would start with the planer at one end and glide to the other, in one smooth pass. He was in the zone. Alone in his thoughts. Creating beauty. Form following function.
He was a true master, a “Surfboard Doctor.” He preferred to shape boards for people he knew. He never had a showroom. He did not even have a website.
A few years back, he told me about a book: The Unknown Craftsman: A Japanese Insight into Beauty, by Sōetsu Yanagi. Some of the most treasured ceramics in the world were handmade by anonymous Korean and Japanese potters. To me, that was Craig. The unknown craftsman. Virtually unknown, yet he was truly one of the best.
I was mesmerized by Craig’s storytelling. Driving together on our many “Surf Safaris” was just as memorable as getting in the water. Special were those times I got a glimpse into his childhood. One story has stayed with me. His father, Buck, had driven up to the Sandpiper in Goleta to play golf, but upon opening his car trunk, he saw it was filled with bees. He quickly closed it and drove back to Malibu so the bees could be released close to home. Craig did not fall far from that tree. Gentle, considerate, respectful.
Five years ago, Craig told me he had the Big C. He was on his very private, final journey. At first, we could still catch waves together. Then we would meet at the putting green. The search for the perfect latte remained a priority. But shaping was what he missed most.
Throughout, his wonderful sense of humor was front and center. Not once did he complain, “Why me?” We would take long walks on the Mesa, observing, sharing, sometimes talking, often quiet. We were able to say goodbye in a slow and gentle way.
Every day, I think about that time with Craig and how much I admired him. Humble, skilled, the Unknown Craftsman.
He would marvel at our miraculous life on Planet Earth. The beauty of it all. Jane was his true Angel. He often would say how he could not have done it without her. Steadfast, strong, supportive, always there. Forever childhood sweethearts! Craig was well known for his Irish goodbyes. At gatherings, we would often hear someone ask, “Where’s Craig?” He had quietly slipped out without a word. Craig’s hospice doctor had assured the family that he would be with them for a couple more weeks. The next day, Friday, March 17, 2023, Saint Patrick’s Day, Craig left us. He pulled off the ultimate Irish goodbye.
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