Dale Webster

His solitary journey atop the sea is perhaps best understood in the sand. On a chilly July morning, at the grasping fingertips of a cold and irritable Pacific Ocean, several sets of footprints head north. Only one set heads west. The footprints heading north are of sneakers and sandals, crossing one another in dizzying patterns, skipping toward distant spots of brightly colored laughter.

Dale WEBSTER, the 55-year-old Sonoma County man profiled with his beach ball-size wad of used surf wax and heap of holey neoprene in last summer's documentary "Step Into Liquid," on Sunday will pass a milestone: 10,407 consecutive days of surfing in sharky Northern California waters. Why such an odd number? It falls on the fifth Sunday in a February, an anomaly that occurred in 1976 and stuck in Webster's mind as worthy of repeating.

Dale WEBSTER, the 55-year-old Sonoma County man profiled with his beach ball-size wad of used surf wax and heap of holey neoprene in last summer's documentary "Step Into Liquid," on Sunday will pass a milestone: 10,407 consecutive days of surfing in sharky Northern California waters. Why such an odd number? It falls on the fifth Sunday in a February, an anomaly that occurred in 1976 and stuck in Webster's mind as worthy of repeating.

His solitary journey atop the sea is perhaps best understood in the sand. On a chilly July morning, at the grasping fingertips of a cold and irritable Pacific Ocean, several sets of footprints head north. Only one set heads west. The footprints heading north are of sneakers and sandals, crossing one another in dizzying patterns, skipping toward distant spots of brightly colored laughter.

Dale Webster will go surfing one more time in Bodega Bay in Northern California today. He will not go surfing Monday, ending a 28 1/2-year streak. Webster, 55, began surfing on Sept. 3, 1975. After surfing every day for a year, he figured he'd see how long he could go. He set a goal of 28 1/2 years -- targeting Feb. 29, 2004 -- because he believed that was a lunar year. He maintained that goal even after learning three years ago that a lunar year is 18 1/2 years.

"Step Into Liquid" is just what it sounds like: an enticing invitation to get your feet wet in the world of surfing, to experience the beauty and feel the rush of this most addictive of pastimes, a sport its partisans insist they will take with them "to the grave." Dana Brown, the film's writer, director and editor, is the son of Bruce Brown, who introduced the world to "The Endless Summer" in 1964.

JAZZ Festival at the Lagoon For those who like their music with an ocean breeze, the 2003 Long Beach Jazz Festival checks in this weekend at Rainbow Lagoon Park. Things get started Friday with James Ingram, Brenda Russell and Kim Waters. Saturday's lineup includes Marcus Miller, Rachelle Ferrell, Mark Antoine, Poncho Sanchez, Paul Taylor, Bobby Lyle and Louie Cruz Beltran Latin Jazz Band.

The kitchen designers had come to the Sheraton Premiere about midnight the night before and created all sorts of culinary cubbyhole fantasies for backdrops.

On the day that the U.S. Senate publicly spurned gay and lesbian activists, Helen and Tina Stiefmiller straggled home from their jobs, exchanged embraces and office news and began the usual litany of domestic chores and pastimes. Over a dinner of takeout chicken, they discussed an unexpected plumbing problem and its impact on the household budget. They agreed to spend the weekend fishing with Tina's mother and stepfather at a nearby lake.

It seems like a far-fetched idea: escape the traffic, smog and crime of Orange County and run away to some tropical island. Fine for a retiree or a beach bum. But an entire business operation? Economic development officials in Maui, Hawaii, say there are practical as well as pleasurable reasons to set up a business on the island best known for its tourist trade. Maui, they say, is at the center of the Pacific Rim economies of the western United States and Asia.