Pat O'Hare

Pat O'Hare made to the Olympic trials in wrestling after getting kicked his Junior college team because, as his coach said, He was a surfer, a drinker and a bum. This, while Pat was also running track! Hank Sellers was the coach and he hated surfers. Dewey Weber was on the team as well.

Pat started out as a sander in Surfside California with Rick James. They both worked for Rick Geech who taught Pat the trade. Later he moved on to Dewey Weber Surfboards.

Pat started riding for Greg Noll; Greg had the, Micky Dora and Rolf Arness models and made a Pat O'Hare model. Greg said he didn't sell many of Pat's models so Pat began shaping in 58, he got really serious in about 63.

 

1963 Pat arrived Cocoa Beach with Rick James, and started making James and O'Hare Surfboards. He didn't expect to stay long. It was His partner Rick James who originally wanted to move East permanently. Rick soon got homesick for California and Pat decided to stay. After stints at Oceanside Surfboards, Pat concentrated on making his own O'Hare surfboards on a serious level.


The McRoberts family Parents introduced themselves to Pat and wanted their kids to surf. It was a match made in heaven. Tommy McRoberts (in the Hall) and Benji were just naturals, they had surfing down right from the start. Pat always had a real strong team, he rounded it off with another surfer from California, Wayne Williams.

 

Benji McRobers

Along the way Pat got to make boards for Tommy McRoberts, Gary Propper and Claude Codgen, some of the best surfers on the East Coast.


Tommy McRoberts



Pat Canaveral Pier