Known by friends and colleagues as a \u201cplanetary patriot,\u201d a \u201chappy warrior\u201d and the \u201cGolden State Eco-Warrior,\u201d Rob Caughlan, a political operative, savvy public relations specialist and one of the early leaders of the Surfrider Foundation, died at his home in San Mateo on Jan. 17. He was 82.<\/p>\n
His wife of nearly 62 years, Diana, died four days earlier, from lung cancer. <\/p>\n
Environmentalists, political operatives and friends responded to his death with grief but also joy as they recalled his passion, talent and sense of humor \u2014 and his drive not only to make the world a better place but to have fun doing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019d always say that the real winner in a surfing contest was the guy who had the most fun,\u201d said Lennie Roberts, a conservationist in San Mateo County and longtime friend of Caughlan\u2019s. \u201cHe was true to that. It\u2019s the way he lived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he walked into a room, he\u2019d have a big smile on his face. He was a great \u2014 a gifted \u2014 people person,\u201d said Dan Young, one of the original five founders of the Surfrider Foundation. The organization was cobbled together in the early 1980s by a group of Southern California surfers who felt called to protect the coastline \u2014 and their waves.<\/p>\n
They also wanted to dispel the stereotype that surfers are lackadaisical stoners and show the world that surfers could get organized and fight for just causes, said Roberts, citing Caughlan\u2019s 2020 memoir, \u201cThe Surfer in the White House and Other Salty Yarns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before joining Surfrider in 1986, Caughlan was a political operative who worked as an environmental advisor in the Carter administration. According to Warner Chabot, an old friend and recently retired executive director of the San Francisco Estuary Institute, Caughlan got his start during the early 1970s when he and his friend, David Oke, formed the Sam Ervin Fan Club, which supported the Southern senator\u2019s efforts to lead the Watergate investigation of President Nixon.<\/p>\n
According to Chabot, Caughlan organized the printing of T-shirts with Ervin\u2019s face on them, underneath the text \u201cI Trust Uncle Sam.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was an early social influencer \u2014 par extraordinaire,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Glenn Hening, a surfer, former Jet Propulsion Laboratory space software engineer and another original founder of the Surfrider Foundation, said one of the group\u2019s initial fights was against the city of Malibu, which in the early 1980s was periodically digging up sand in the lagoon right offshore and destroying the waves at one of their favorite surf spots. <\/p>\n
According to Hening, it was Caughlin\u2019s unique ability to persuade and charm politicians and donors that put Surfrider\u2019s efforts on the map. <\/p>\n
Caughlan served as the foundation\u2019s president from 1986 to 1992.<\/p>\n