Who Is ... Dale Webster

WHY CAL RIPKEN JR. MIGHT READ THIS AND WEEP Webster, 54, has
surfed for 10,226 consecutive days (since Sept. 3, 1975), earning
him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records and a segment in
Step into Liquid, the well-received new surfing documentary.

WHAT HIS WIFE OF 18 YEARS, KAYE, PUTS UP WITH Webster surfs two
to three hours a day (catching at least three waves), usually
near his Bodega Bay, Calif., home. He has never visited his
in-laws, who live in Utah, but he has surfed with kidney stones
so painful that he had to crawl into the water, and he once
narrowly missed a run-in with a great white shark. Currently a
school custodian, he's held an assortment of odd jobs over the
years to allow for what he calls his "daily stoke."

WHEN DOES AN ENDLESS SUMMER END? On Feb. 29, 2004, the extra leap
year day, Webster plans to halt the streak. Because of the
constant water exposure, he needs surgery on his ears (buildup of
bone) and his eyes (a fleshy growth). Thanks to Liquid, he'll
retire as a cult hero. "At the screening I had all these pro
surfers asking for my autograph," he says. "It's kind of amazing
to have been a legend in my own mind for so many years and now to
be a worldwide myth."

COLOR PHOTO: MICHELE MOLINARI (WEBSTER HEAD SHOT) IN THE TROUGH Even on the days when it's too foggy to see theshore, Webster rides the California waves.

COLOR PHOTO: ROBERT DURELL/LOS ANGELES TIMES (WEBSTER SURFING) [See caption above]