Dale Webster, the Northern California surfer who paddled out every day for more than 40 years, has died at the age of 77. News of his death was shared on social media by friends and fellow surfers. No cause of death was given.
Known as Daily Dale and Daily Wavester, Webster holds a Guinness world record for the longest streak of consecutive days surfed: an extraordinary 14,642, a stretch that began in 1975 and ended in 2015. His feat required him to surf at least three waves a day, rain or shine, in sickness or in health, through frigid Pacific waters and the shark-rich lineup off Sonoma County.
Born in Alhambra, California, in 1948, Webster began standup surfing in 1961 at the age of 13. In 1973, he moved to Bodega Bay, about 70 miles north of San Francisco. Two years later, a run of large swells known as the Monster from New Zealand sparked a personal challenge: surf every day for 100 consecutive days.
When he reached that milestone, a local newspaper wrote about it. “That publicity gave me a little pat on the back to make it to a year,” Webster told Surfer magazine in 2015. “So then the challenge became a year. And so forth.”
From 3 September 1975 until 5 October 2015, Webster never missed a day in the water. Inspired by surfers like Doc Paskowitz and Phil Edwards, he followed Edwards’ dictum that a wave wasn’t truly ridden unless it was taken all the way to the beach, fin dragging in the sand.
The streak was as much about grit as it was about waves. Year-round water temperatures on his stretch of coast hovered around 50F (10C), often dropping into the 40s in winter. Storms regularly battered the shore, and the surf could be fickle or outright dangerous. Webster endured kidney stones, thyroid problems and, on one searingly difficult day, still paddled out after his wife died of cancer.
He built his life around the pursuit, never taking vacations away from the coast and even quitting jobs that interfered with his sessions. “The only thing I’ll have is the memory of riding all those waves,” he told the New York Times in 2000. “When I’m out there watching the seals and sea lions, and 30-inch salmon jumping, and I have all those waves to myself, it’s like my own personal Disneyland.”
His streak ended in 2015 when he needed surgery for kidney stones. By then, Webster had ridden an estimated 43,923 waves. In 2003, his dedication was profiled in Dana Brown’s surf documentary Step Into Liquid. Eleven-time world champion Kelly Slater was among those who saluted him, writing: “#DaleWebster hasn’t missed a day of surfing in #14641 days and I think he’s awesome.”
Webster reflected on his devotion in philosophical terms. “Surfing is really a challenge,” he told Surfer. “It may not be barreling, but the act of putting on a suit, going out there, and just being in the water feels wonderful.”
