ENCINITAS: Cardiff surfer statue undergoes repair work

The creator of a bronze surfer statue that locals have dubbed the "Cardiff Kook" spent several hours Tuesday repairing the piece, which has been badly damaged by pranksters who frequently climb aboard it to dress it in outlandish costumes.

"We're just kind of trying to rebuild what was there," artist Matthew Antichevich said during a break from the work, which was performed with the help of his friend, welder Danny Salzhandler.

As the repairs were made, Antichevich stopped frequently to check photographs taken when the piece was first installed and compare it to changes being made Tuesday.

Using small metal pieces, Antichevich added about 2 feet back onto the bronze water spray that's beneath the surfer's board. The changes were an improvement, but didn't quite duplicate the original version, he told Salzhandler.

Salzhandler said the changes looked great to him. He told a reporter that the piece will look even better soon ---- it's scheduled to have a power washing and polishing later.

The cleaning and welding work is estimated to cost about $2,000, and the money is coming out of the city's public art maintenance budget, Encinitas arts officials have said.

The statue ---- whose official title is "The Magic Carpet Ride" ---- was commissioned years ago by the Cardiff Botanical Society, which paid Antichevich $92,000 to create the piece.

The city contributed $30,000 to have it installed in 2007 along busy Coast Highway 101 next to the San Elijo State Beach campground.

At the time, surfers said the boy's stance was effeminate and the wave he was riding was tiny.

The piece doesn't actually have a wave, Antichevich has said. Instead, it has a small bronze splash of spray from a wave. There was to be a huge wave behind the surfer, but that was eliminated as a cost-cutting measure by the botanical society.

Antichevich said recently that he would love someone to start a fund to cover the cost of installing the wave.

While the statue faced ridicule initially, it has become a much-beloved, frequently decorated community landmark.

Pranksters have turned it into a royal bride, Cupid, various sports stars, a breast cancer research supporter and a soldier, among other things. The most famous stunt involved a papier-mache shark that looked as if it was gulping down the young surfer.

Antichevich has said his favorite transformation was the one that appeared in honor of artist Vincent Van Gogh's birthday in March.

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