NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- (December 13, 2004) -- The Billabong Clipper, a classic military seaplane refitted as the ultimate surf exploration craft, made its first public appearance today with a spectacular ocean landing off of Newport Harbor. The vintage Grumman HU-16B "Albatross" skimmed across the seas off Corona del Mar this afternoon, touching down on the Pacific waters in a sight not seen off the California coast in decades.
With an Orange County Sheriff's Department Harbor Patrol escort, the flying boat was towed into the harbormouth by two SeaTow support vessels and moored off picturesque China Cove, just inside Corona del Mar State Beach. The vintage amphibious warbird, in its new tan and brown paint scheme, evoked the glamour and adventure of the Pam Am Clipper flying boats which opened up transpacific routes some 70 years ago.
Professional surfers Shane Dorian, Donovan Frankenreiter and Benji Weatherly were on board for the maiden voyage of the Clipper, and were thrilled at the sensation of alighting on the ocean at over 80 knots and sliding to a halt just across the jetty from the famed Wedge surf spot.
"That was an amazing experience," said Dorian, world-renowned for his years on the world pro surfing tour and his big wave skills. "It was so much fun. This plane will open up the door to a whole new realm of surf exploration to places no one has ever been."
Officials at the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum believe this is the largest seaplane to ever visit Newport Harbor, and the first in many decades. Newport was the site of the first ever seaplane flight conducted by aviation pioneer Glenn Martin in 1912.
The location area holds other historic significance as the breakers off Corona del Mar were the epicenter of American surfing in the 1920s and early 30s, and the spot where surf legends like Duke Kahanamoku and Tom Blake honed their skills long before San Onofre and Malibu came into favor. The adjacent China Cove beach was often used as a place to build and modify the enormous wooden surfboards of the era. The Billabong Clipper is moored off the Kerckhoff Marine Institute, a CalTech research facility which dates back to its founding as a beach club in the Roaring Twenties.
The aircraft will remain in Newport Harbor through tomorrow, when it will be christened in a brief ceremony before departing on a series of worldwide surfing exploration adventures.
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