Pioneering Surf Forecaster Sean Collins Dies
REST IN PEACE
He founded Surfline, a call-in service that reported wave conditions in Southern California and grew to become one of the largest sports sites in the world with 1.5 million unique visitors a month.
Surfline has created an online memorial page in memory of Sean Collins.
Members of the Southern California surfing community will paddle out on Jan. 7 near the Huntington Beach Pier to remember the life of pioneering surf forecaster Sean Collins who died at age 59 after a heart attack while playing tennis on Dec. 26.
The Seal Beach resident is considered a surf forecasting pioneer. He taught himself meteorology and recorded weather reports and forecasts via shortwave radio before founding one of the most influential sports websites, surfline.com.
In 1999, Surfer magazine named Collins one of the 25 Most Influential Surfers of the Century. In 2008, he was inducted into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame.
He was born in Pasadena to a former Navy officer father with whom he enjoyed sailboat racing.
His passion for surfing started at age 8. Through the 1970s and 1980s, he worked waiting tables and shooting pictures while he honed his skills studying waves and weather in some of the world’s best surf spots.
In 1985, he founded Surfline, a call-in service that reported on wave conditions in Southern California. In 1995, Surfline went online and is considered one of the largest sports sites in the world with 1.5 million unique visitors a month.
The paddle out will take place on Saturday, Jan. 7 from 11-11:30 a.m.
He is survived by his wife, Daren, his two sons, Tyler and AJ, his 82-year-old mother, Gloria, and siblings Whitney Jr. Gloria Burdette II and Robert.
Collins’ family has asked that in lieu of flowers being sent to the home, a fund has been set up that the family will direct to various causes Collins would want to support:
The Sean Collins Surfline Charitable Fund
300 Pacific Coast Highway, Ste 310
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
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