Surfing Hospitals, La Jolla

Name: Eli Humphrey

Vehicle: 1996 Toyota Tacoma LX

Lives: La Jolla

Surfing: Hospitals, La Jolla

Eli Humphrey grew up in South Carolina but moved to San Diego ten years ago and has been surfing ever since. He's a carpenter who works mostly in La Jolla, so he keeps his 6'3" Pukas board in the back of his pickup truck and heads down to the beach when his day is done. The shortboard fits perfectly into the back of his truck, sharing cargo space with hammers, a tape measure, a hardhat, and screws. Humphrey has seen "tons of sharks" and has even surfed in a group of seals, but his most intense wildlife encounter occurred while surfing in Oceanside. When he was out on the water, he came across what looked like a baby dolphin. When he got closer, Humphrey realized that the baby dolphin was dead and floating. He says the saddest part was, "It looked like the mother dolphin was swimming around it, trying to save it and see what was wrong." The mother dolphin circled around for a while because it knew something wasn't right, and she eventually swam away. Humphrey wasn't sure how the baby had died, but he knew that nothing could be done for it.