Bob “Beach Captain” Bergstrom passed away Saturday at his Hermosa Beach walk street home, one week after celebrating his 88th birthday by joining friends in performing Happy Birthday on their ukuleles. The Hermosa Beach Surfers Walk of Fame Pioneer inductee earned the title Beach Captain for his leadership role in the beach culture in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s. He and fellow Surfers Walk of Fame Inductees built the first California surfboards and catamarans in their garages. They kept the catamarans on the beach at 21st Street.
“He had a palm frond hut on the beach at 21st Street. He and his friends were hot-rodders, surfers and sailors. They had a style and I wanted to be like them,” Surf and Ski Shop owner Dick Mobley recalled in a 2005 Easy Reader interview.
According to his brother-in-law Mac Chappelear, one morning after becoming irritated by the crowd of surfers in the water, Bergstrom gave his balsa board to an eager young kid and quit surfing forever. The story inspired a similar scene in John Milius’ film “Big Wednesday.”
In his youth, Bergstrom and his friends worked at his mother’s Riviera Grill and Bath House (now the Bottle Inn restaurant) on 22nd Street. When King Harbor Marina was built, he opened Redondo’s first marine supply store. He later built custom boats in Marina Del Rey. Then from 1972 until 1995 he was the general manager of King Harbor Marine Center.
Bergstrom is survived by Kathy, his wife of 56 years, daughter Anne Lucas and sons Guy and Gus. A 21st Street block party and paddleout in celebration of Bergstrom’s life is scheduled for September 26 at 10 a.m. ER
