Surfer Chris Hawk honored in Huntington Beach

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There is a makeshift memorial to Chris Hawk at his spot in the Surfers’ Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach.

Inductees have prints of their hands and feet in the pavement in front of Huntington Surf & Sport, which is along a busy stretch of Pacific Coast Highway. It’s a fittingly Hollywood touch, obviously patterned after Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and seems appropriate. After all, many of the inductees rate as the stars of the surfing culture.

Hawk, a legendary local surfer and board shaper who died Oct. 23, is the newest name. He was honored last month. Organizers said they’d long considered Hawk for inclusion but moved up the induction after finding out the surfer had cancer. Typically, the Hall of Fame adds members in July when the U.S. Open surfing championships are held in Huntington Beach.

People have placed flowers and keepsakes by Hawk’s name. You can barely see the words he left in the concrete last month: ‘Peace-Love-Surf.’

-- Keith Thursby