Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Waterman's Eye

What’s the title of your book?

Waterman's Eye. The term ‘waterman’ is from the ‘20s and ‘30s. It was applied to gentlemen who ran the gamut in terms of their involvement with the ocean — either recreationally or work-related. It wasn’t just surfing — you had to be into diving, lifeguarding, boating, and fishing, also. The book is available online, in some local surf shops, and at the Surf Museum in Oceanside.”

Tell me about the story.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“It’s about one man’s relationship with the ocean, from Mexico all the way to San Onofre. That man was Emil Sigler; he was the person who stimulated the surf community in San Diego. When he started, there was only one board in San Diego, and it belonged to Charlie Wright. Wright would ride it two or three times a year at surf exhibitions. But Sigler rode it more often, and when he was 17 or 18, he started experimenting with shaping another board. He made the second, third, and fourth boards in San Diego.”

How did you come to write it?

“I was surfing in Pacific Beach one day, and afterwards, I stopped at an estate sale. I found this little Kleenex box full of old surfing photos, dated 1928 on the back. I collect surf memorabilia, and you don’t see Southern California surf photos from the ‘20s and ‘30s. It’s just a missing gap. My surf crew is mostly about 20 or 30 years older than me — I love older people, the stories they tell — and so I started asking around to see if anyone knew this guy in the photos. Larry Gordon, who founded Gordon & Smith, told me about this guy Hadji. Hadji was 88 and he still surfed down there in P.B. I showed him, and he said, ‘Oh, my God, that’s Emil Sigler, the guy who taught me how to surf when I was a kid. You know, he’s still alive. I’ll bring these photos next time I talk to him.’

“The next week, Hadji brought Emil to the beach — Emil was 91 at the time. He had a walker, and these dark shades, and he was strolling along the beach so smoothly. He had such a presence. We talked, and he took me to his house and gave me more photos. Once I started talking to him, I knew there was a story there. I went home and told my wife, ‘I’ve got to do something.’”

Why should someone read this book?

“Emil documented everything through photography. He took pictures of his friends and had them take pictures of him. Not too many people did that back then. The book is very historical. The cover photo shows him coming into Mission Beach on a wave, and it’s very symbolic. He’s on Charlie Wright’s board, and the people on the beach saw that — another person riding the board.”

Tell me about writing the book.

“Writing the book got very emotional. I’d go to Emil’s house after work to do interviews, and I’d tell my wife I’d be gone for just a couple of hours. Then it would be 10 p.m., and my wife would be calling for me to come home. Sarah was Emil’s wife, and bless her, she would go to the garden and cut roses, and put them in a vase for me to bring home to my wife. She was so loving — she used to warm up sake for us, and we had a lot of dinners together. Near the end, Sarah came down with terminal cancer. I was able to make a mock-up cover of the book for her to see before she died. I wanted to write the book, not only for Emil, but also for Sarah.”

Name: David Aguirre | Age: 44

Neighborhood: La Mesa | Where interviewed: Aguirre’s Home

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024

What’s the title of your book?

Waterman's Eye. The term ‘waterman’ is from the ‘20s and ‘30s. It was applied to gentlemen who ran the gamut in terms of their involvement with the ocean — either recreationally or work-related. It wasn’t just surfing — you had to be into diving, lifeguarding, boating, and fishing, also. The book is available online, in some local surf shops, and at the Surf Museum in Oceanside.”

Tell me about the story.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“It’s about one man’s relationship with the ocean, from Mexico all the way to San Onofre. That man was Emil Sigler; he was the person who stimulated the surf community in San Diego. When he started, there was only one board in San Diego, and it belonged to Charlie Wright. Wright would ride it two or three times a year at surf exhibitions. But Sigler rode it more often, and when he was 17 or 18, he started experimenting with shaping another board. He made the second, third, and fourth boards in San Diego.”

How did you come to write it?

“I was surfing in Pacific Beach one day, and afterwards, I stopped at an estate sale. I found this little Kleenex box full of old surfing photos, dated 1928 on the back. I collect surf memorabilia, and you don’t see Southern California surf photos from the ‘20s and ‘30s. It’s just a missing gap. My surf crew is mostly about 20 or 30 years older than me — I love older people, the stories they tell — and so I started asking around to see if anyone knew this guy in the photos. Larry Gordon, who founded Gordon & Smith, told me about this guy Hadji. Hadji was 88 and he still surfed down there in P.B. I showed him, and he said, ‘Oh, my God, that’s Emil Sigler, the guy who taught me how to surf when I was a kid. You know, he’s still alive. I’ll bring these photos next time I talk to him.’

“The next week, Hadji brought Emil to the beach — Emil was 91 at the time. He had a walker, and these dark shades, and he was strolling along the beach so smoothly. He had such a presence. We talked, and he took me to his house and gave me more photos. Once I started talking to him, I knew there was a story there. I went home and told my wife, ‘I’ve got to do something.’”

Why should someone read this book?

“Emil documented everything through photography. He took pictures of his friends and had them take pictures of him. Not too many people did that back then. The book is very historical. The cover photo shows him coming into Mission Beach on a wave, and it’s very symbolic. He’s on Charlie Wright’s board, and the people on the beach saw that — another person riding the board.”

Tell me about writing the book.

“Writing the book got very emotional. I’d go to Emil’s house after work to do interviews, and I’d tell my wife I’d be gone for just a couple of hours. Then it would be 10 p.m., and my wife would be calling for me to come home. Sarah was Emil’s wife, and bless her, she would go to the garden and cut roses, and put them in a vase for me to bring home to my wife. She was so loving — she used to warm up sake for us, and we had a lot of dinners together. Near the end, Sarah came down with terminal cancer. I was able to make a mock-up cover of the book for her to see before she died. I wanted to write the book, not only for Emil, but also for Sarah.”

Name: David Aguirre | Age: 44

Neighborhood: La Mesa | Where interviewed: Aguirre’s Home

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.