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surfer : da Cat

Micki 'da Cat' Dora
(19xx - 2002)
"Life's a waste of time, and surfing is a good a way to waste it as any." - Dora, 1975

Sunset Beach, circa 1963
Photograph : Grannis

Source Documents
Micki Dora : Authorative Small Wave Selctions, 1968
This commentary by Micki Dora is edited from an article
Authorative Big and Small Wave Selctions
published in Surfing Magazine, early 1968, Pages 19 to 25.
The images are from alternative sources.

Catalogue Entries:
Born : ?
Beach : Malibu, California
Competitive Record
Invitee to Duke Contest 1967, infamous Malibu moon,
Surfing
surfer
Other

Dora Story #512 : Bob Cooper, as told to Andrew Farrell, editor Australia's Surfing Life.
One time he (Bob Cooper) told me this classic Mickey story.
Apparently Dora would never show up at Malibu unless it was just pumping.
And when he did show up, he'd say something offhand like; "Hey, man, I was over in the Valley and I just knew it was going to be cranking so I came down."
The whole crew was always baffled.
It was a big mystery as to how Mickey could be so on it and never get skunked.
Then one day Bob turns onto the freeway and whoah! ...he just happens to be right behind Dora!
So he thinks to himself, 'I'll just follow him for a bit and see what he gets up to.'
After a while they wound up in Malibu and Mickey turned down some little side road beside a house, just poking the nose of his car out far enough to check out the point.
It seems that if the surf was good, then he'd just swing into the carpark.
If it was bad, he'd just go home with no one the wiser.
How classic is that?!
- Andrew Farrell : The Tale Spinner
Australian Surfers Journal Volume 3 Number Two, Autumn 2000. Page 68.

1966 da Cat by Mickey Dora : Greg Noll Surfboards

1966
da Cat fin
Molded ABS
8 x 8 b @ n/a inches (Approximation)
Micki Dora da Cat Model
Greg noll Surfboards, USA
Base tounge and indent to lock into corresponding fin box.

C. R. Steck Collection
Photograph : Douglas Congdon-Martin
Schiffer page 58

REFERENCES
Books

General

Web Pages
surfinfo
Legendary surfers
http://www.vintagegregnollsurf.com/pages/10/index.htm

Magazines

Surfing magazine 19
Surfer magazine 19

Film
The Endless Summer 1964
Ride the Wild Surf 1966?
Free and Easy 1967
Pacific Vibrations 1973
Surfers - The Movie 1994?

Malibu, 1960.
Photograph : Leroy Grannis
Surfer July 1976
Volume17 Number 2 Page 55.

Rincon, circa 1962.
Photograph : Ron Stoner
Surfer Magazine, June 1981, Volume 22 Number 6 page 41.

Malibu, circa 1963
Photograph : Grannis

Rincon, circa 1963
Photograph : Grannis
Surfer Magazine, Feb - March 1964, page 37.

Malibu, circa 1964
Photograph : ?
Source ?

Malibu Contest, 1965
Photograph : Ron Stoner
Surfer Magazine, x 196, page .

Malibu Invitational Surf Classic, 1967.

Photograph : C.R.Stecyk lll
Surfer July 1976

Volume17 Number 2 Page 68.

There is a story about this photograph.

Cabo San Lucas, Baja, July 1989
Photograph : Bill Delaney
A still from Surfers -The Movie
Surfer Magazine, April 1990, page 125.

The Christmas (1967-1968) Message reads....

From deep in the archives I wish you one and all a brain strobing
high holidays, and a proserous new year, with a hundred times
less work and a thousand times more pleasure to groove on them
whats past. May the new year bring da white water over da land
and wash out all the oppressive concentration camp lifeguard
towers, then purifying our coast line by completely deluding of
every crazed, money mad, fenced out, and pathetic private beach
clique Mussolini type property owners. Then once again freedom
will be ours to express ourselves to the fullest extent of our
capabilities. Things are changing and it's all happening now
brother. Wake up and do what's needed. this next year will be
the critical turning point in our history one way or the other. You've
got to shake them up man before da san Andreas Fault does her
shaking for you. Sleep tight children for tomorrow we might
wake up dead. International Surfing
East Coast Edition, January 1968, Volume 3 Number 6, Page 5?