Were not going away: Rob Caughlan, fierce defender of coastline and Surfrider leader, dies at 82
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Known by friends and colleagues as a “planetary patriot,” a “happy warrior” and the “Golden State Eco-Warrior,” 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.His wife of nearly 62 years, Diana, died four days earlier, from lung cancer.Environmentalists, political operatives and friends responded to his death with grief but also joy as they recalled his passion, talent and sense of humor — and his drive not only to make the world a better place but to have fun doing it.“He’d always say that the real winner in a surfing contest was the guy who had the most fun,” said Lennie Roberts, a conservationist in San Mateo County and longtime friend of Caughlan’s.
“He was true to that.It’s the way he lived.”“When he walked into a room, he’d have a big smile on his face.
He was a great — a gifted — people person,” 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 — and their waves.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’s 2020 memoir, “The Surfer in the White House and Other Salty Yarns.”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’s efforts...