© 2010 California Surf Museum  Eve Fletcher                                                Surfing For Life In 2010, at age 83, Eve Fletcher looks back on over 50 years of surfing, and still hits the water whenever she can. She is one of the oldest women still surfing, getting out with many of her longtime pals at San Onofre. One of the stars of the 2001 award-winning documentary Surfing for Life, Eve has been regularly featured in newspapers, magazines, books, and film. Says Eve: “I plan to surf till I drop. You are never too old to be stoked!” Eve was working as a cartoon editor for Disney Studios when she took up surfing. “I was quite a good skier, but I hadn’t yet tried surfing. Then one day I went to San Onofre and ran into the most famous woman surfer at that time – Marge Calhoun. I had a surfboard with me and I remember asking her ‘How do you do this?’ ‘You just paddle and then stand up,’ Marge answered. That was many years ago, and we are still dear friends. In this photo I am surfing on Christmas Day at San Onofre, wearing a white mohair sweater for a little bit of warmth. It was too good a day not to go out!” Eve has enjoyed the welcoming embrace of Hawaiian waters ever since she and Marge Calhoun flew to Oahu in 1958 for a month-long surfari. Living mainly in a van that they rented from Peter Cole, the young women surfed all over the island, causing quite a stir amongst the locals, who charted their progress and surfing prowess on the coconut wireless. They were talked into entering the Makaha International contest, and Marge won first place “Don James took this photo of me, and I’m very proud to have it. Back in the days when I took up surfing, the fellows didn’t really like us out there in the lineup, much less catching a wave with them. Most of them respected us once they saw we were capable. When they saw we were serious and strong enough, it was a different story. I am glad if I have inspired some young women to keep trying, to keep getting better and better.” “I want to be in the water whenever I can. The greatest thing about surfing is that you learn so much about the ocean, the birds, the porpoises. You forget all your problems. You love everyone.” These days, when she is not in the water, she can be found in her garden, using her artist’s touch to design and nurture. On a recent trip to Oahu, Eve is pictured returning from a surf session at Lanikai Beach. The cat (her own) wasn’t in the original photo – she later “pasted” him in and used it for her Christmas card that year. “The equipment we use today is wonderful, and I am lucky I can still be out there catching waves!”