Hap Jacobs got word of Bob’s passing while vacationing in Hawaii, the same way he heard about Billy’s.
“There’s a Catamaran with a big Body Glove Logo on it in front of my place,” he said. “It reminds me of them every time I see it.”
Hap recalls both Meistrells lifeguarding on the south side of the Hermosa Beach Pier and being enthusiastic about him and Bing Copland of Bing Surfboards taking the lifeguard test.
“Just like today, we had to compete against a lot of great pool swimmers, so we hoped for a big swell,” Jacobs said. “We had a big swell and from surfing we knew to bodysurf in.”
Bing and Hap both passed the test.
“Bob and Bill were happy to have more surfers who knew about rip tides and waves.”
In the early ‘50s, Hap partnered with Bev Morgan in opening Dive N’ Surf, one of the first dive shops.
“Bev handled the scuba and wetsuits while I handled the surfboards,” Hap said.
Bev ended up teaming up with the Meistrells in 1954. Dive N’Surf became the first scuba shop where you could buy dive gear and learn how to dive.
“I remember Bob and Bill trying hard to get their loan for the pool, and they finally did,” Hap said,“Bev and the Meistrells were a great fit, while I went on to partner with Velzy, which also worked out well.”
By the mid ‘60s, Hap had his famous shop at 422 Pacific Coast Highway, along the miracle mile of surf shops in Hermosa Beach. By this time, wetsuits had become more accepted by surfers but still met a bit of resistance. Body Glove insisted Hap buy two dozen. Hap wanted only a half a dozen.
“We put Jacobs’s red diamond logo on the suits and we quickly needed more suits for the shop,” he said, “We laughed about it. Those were fun days.”
After Hap retired the planer and took up sword fishing in the ‘70s, he’d run into Bob more often.
“Bob really went with the scuba and wetsuit thing,” he said, “We chatted quite a bit when I’d catch him on his boat.”
“Bob had a mooring at the Catalina Isthmus,” he said. “It was good hearing about how he had his family involved in the business.”
When Hap got back into surfing in the late 80s, the first place he went to get fitted with a new wetsuit was the old Body Glove Headquarters on 6th and Cypress.
“I was messing around with the zipper and was wondering why it wouldn’t zip up,” Hap said while trying to zip up from the front. “Apparently, the zipper was now on the back.”
Recently, with Hap shaping a few foam and balsa surfboards for the Meistrell grandchildren and the new Dive n’ Surf building being remodeled, he got to spend some time with Bob.
“I’d see Bob fiddling around his boat in King Harbor,” Hap said. “I feel lucky to have seen him so often shortly before his passing.”
