SURFING LAGUNA: Life of a surfer

Few would argue that Laguna Beach is filled with amazing folks from throughout the surfing world. Last week I was honored to spend time with one of Laguna’s favorite daughters; a decorated pro surfer, high school coach and mom: Alisa Schwarzstein Cairns.

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So Alisa, where did you grow up and how did you get into surfing?

I grew up here in Laguna Beach. My family and I moved to Laguna from New York when I was 9. At first we rented a house on the beach overlooking the beautiful waves of Brooks Street. We eventually moved to another house overlooking Thalia Street. That was the first time I had ever seen people surfing, and right away I knew I wanted to try it.

Describe the first time you surfed. What was that like?

Well, I needed a surfboard so I went over to the secondhand shop On Consignment and there was a really thrashed and delaminated surfboard I bought for $10 without my parents knowing and went down to Thalia. I thought I could just go out there and surf. I ended up getting hit in the face with the board, knocked loose my teeth and had to get a root canal. My parents were really upset and after that wouldn’t let me surf. Finally, when I was 12, I convinced them to let me try again. This time some friends and I took a week long surf camp down at Doheny. It was taught by the Laguna Beach lifeguards. I had so much fun and at the end of the week they had a contest, which I won. I was hooked!

Who were some of your surfing heroes growing up?

I looked up to all the top pros in the ‘70s to ‘80s, including my husband, Ian Cairns, PT [Peter Townend], Cheyne Horan, Shaun Tomson, Mark Richards, Rabbit and the women surfers like Margo Oberg, Lynn Boyer, Jericho Popler, Rell Sun and Pam Burridge.

There were also the older local guys in Laguna that were sometimes in the surf magazines, like Mike Armstrong and Brian Buckley. Also the many super cool guys in town that would encourage me and take me surfing.

Like it is today, there was a pecking order with a whole crew of guys out at Thalia in the winter and Brooks in the summer, various ages and levels that would be pushing me.

Those were my main spots in Laguna that I surfed. I was usually the only girl out on a regular basis. It is really nice to see so many girls and women out at our local spots these days.

Your competitive résumé is amazing. Can you give us a snapshot of the journey from amateur to pro?

It basically started my freshman year at Laguna Beach High School. In the fall of 1978, they were putting together a surf club, with guys like the Carlsons, Richard and Dave, Steve Clark and Chuck Denny and we surfed in a NSSA High School Championships at Salt Creek. I took first and then was invited to the NSSA Nationals in Huntington Beach which I also won. I was selected to be on the NSSA National team and started traveling the world for contests.

By the time I was 15 I had won the World Championships held in France in 1980 and contest surfing became my life. I spent six years traveling as an amateur on the National Team and 10 years on the ASP World Tour as a pro.

I knew that I wanted to be a pro surfer, but school was also really important to me and through my amateur years I earned some surfing and art scholarships (Sawdust Festival scholarship for ceramics).

So I kept my amateur status longer then some of my peers and went to UCLA.

Finally, while I was a junior at UCLA, I turned pro and managed to get Rookie of the Year. In my final year at UCLA I had my best year on the ASP world tour, finishing fourth in the world in 1986.

You are a Laguna Beach High School Surf Coach along with Scott Finn. Are there any girls on the team that could follow in your footsteps to the pro tour?

We have had some really nice girls on the team and are fortunate enough to be headed up by USA Surf Team member Taylor Pitz, who can always be counted on to come up with big results for Laguna. The future also looks good down the pipe with Thurston seventh-grader Leah Pakpour who is a young enthusiastic girl with the competitive drive to take her far.

I can see both Taylor and Leah following in the direction that I did with my surfing and I am really excited for them!

So, in addition to coaching at the high school and being super mom to your boys I hear you’re the busiest surf instructor (and one of the best) in Laguna?

Yes, along with the coaching that I am doing, and the raising of my 7-year-old twin boys, I am also a surf instructor.

It is really fun to get someone out in the water for the first time and get them up and surfing! It feels really good to share the amazing rush of riding waves with others.

Do you have one surf trip that stands out as the best? What dream surf trip would you like to go on now?

I have been so lucky to surf in many beautiful places around the world; I don’t think I could ever pick one. Of course high on my list would be the warm tropical places like Reunion Island, Tahiti, Hawaii, Indonesia and the Caribbean.

But I also love Australia, France, South Africa and the list goes on. My dream trip in the future would be a warm place with 4- to 6-foot surf, my husband, my kids and some good friends to enjoy it with as well.

CHRIS WILLIAMS is a surfing coach and Laguna Beach resident, and father of four surf-crazy sons. He can be reached at [email protected] or (949) 497-5918.