It seems like fate. It feels like it was meant to be. For years, Paul Dunlap has been painstakingly working on the Bay Theatre, meticulously crafting its remodel to bring the theater back to its original glory.
At the same time, retired firefighter Chris Sardelis had been working on a film about a Seal Beach man, who was his friend, employer, and mentor. In many ways, Rich Harbour was like a family member for Sardelis, who grew up with his mother and grandmother in Long Beach.
Sardelis found a passion in surfing and a brother in Harbour.
Several years ago, Sardelis was encouraged to make a movie about Harbour, spurred by the publishing of the book, “The Harbour Chronicles.” Due to some setbacks, COVID shutdown among them, the movie, like the theater, has been a long-time project. And like Dunlap and the theater, Sardelis has been staunchly stubborn in seeing his project come to fruition.
So, be it destiny, fortune, or plain old luck, the movie and the theater reached completion nearly simultaneously. The Bay Theatre will hold its grand re-opening on Jan. 25-26, and Sardelis’ movie “Harbour Chronicles: Shaping a Legacy” will premier at the renowned theater, across the street from where Harbour built his legendary surf shop. The premier has sold out.
The movie attempts to convey three essential things, the history of Rich Harbour, some of the history of Seal Beach and the history of surfing. Rich moved to Seal Beach as a young boy, with his family and basically never left. He loved the town and his surf shop has become an integral piece of the history of Seal Beach.
“So it’s not just about a surf shop and him, it’s about him, him living in the town, the town is Rich, Rich is town,” Sardelis said.
Sardelis was encouraged by his friend, Greg Escalante, a writer and artist, to make the film about Harbour, shortly before Escalante passed away in 2017.
Sardelis had done surf photography and knew his way around cameras, but had little experience about film making. Through trial and error he began to learn about the art and business of filmmaking.
Sardelis was able to tape an interview with Harbour before he would also pass in 2021. But as Sardelis moved forward, he seemed to come across more and more information about Harbour. His family, his background and the things that came into play to help make Harbour Surfboards a mainstay in the industry and beacon for Seal Beach around the world. He met others with film footage of Harbour and other surfers that would become integral pieces of his film.
He would convince other writers and editors to help out with the project, contributors like Joe Escalante, brother of Greg and former front-man for the ‘80s OC punk rock band, The Vandals.
Escalante helped out with some writing and music and they also got local band Sublime to chip in some of their music. Late in the process of final editing, Sardelis also got Mike Bruining, an Emmy-winning editor, to lend his talents to the project.
“It’s really a local shindig, so to speak, everyone’s pitching in,” Sardelis said.
Sardelis said Bruining’s work on the project took it from an ok movie to a top-level film. While the main subject is Harbour himself, the movie weaves in a wide range of topics surrounding the surf world and Seal Beach. In the early days of surfing, residents and authorities often pushed back on the surf culture. There might have been some accuracy to the stereotypical surf bum who only needed “a cool buzz and some tasty waves,” a la Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but for some it was serious business. Rich Harbour was one of those surfers.
While Harbour was a good surfer, he was not interested in being a professional level surfer. But he loved shaping boards and some of the best surfers in the world loved his boards. The burgeoning business was also aided by a supportive Harbour family. In fact, it was Harbour’s mother, Alice, who believed in his efforts and her help in running the business in the early years, was a big part of its success.
“If it wasn’t for Alice, in so many ways, we would not have what we have today, … the fact that she actually believed in him,” current Harbour Surfboard owner Robert Howson said.
Sardelis was part of that community as a kid.
His father was not a part of his life growing up in a rough part of Long Beach. He lived with his mother and grandmother, who would take him to Seal Beach to ride waves on a mat. That was where he first discovered surfboards and the Harbour triangle logo.
“I started seeing the … triangle on the boards, so since 10 years old that’s imprinted on me, the triangle, like this town and that triangle are one to me,” Sardelis said.
He said he was helped by the fact that his grandmother worked at St. Anthony’s High School, so he was offered free tuition. He worked at Harbour Surfboards as a teen, as well as a gas station on 2nd Street to help support his family. His mother passed away when he was 19 and Sardelis needed something to hang on to. It turned out to be Harbour Surfboards and the guys who worked there.
“I didn’t have a dad, but I had a bunch of brothers, so it kind of made it easier,” Sardelis said.
It’s that connection, that story, that Sardelis sought to show in this movie. The connection between Rich, Harbour Surfboards, surfing history, family commitments and community camaraderie, that links Seal Beach and Harbour Surfboards.
“I think the hope is, Chris’ hope is that this just doesn’t resonate with the surfers, that it resonates with, with families, with this beautiful town, and how we’re all connected,” Howson said.
And what better place to premier the movie than The Bay Theatre?
The theater where Sardelis went to see “Five Summer Stories,” the 1972 surf film by Jim Freeman and Greg MacGillivray (which also contributed to Harbour Chronicles). It’s like it has all come full circle, and just in time.
“Then Paul comes along with the Bay Theatre and opens his doors to me to show it, which was not expected,” Sardelis said. “So here I am, which is unbelievable to me.”
The movie is scheduled to be shown on Sept. 25 & 26, but both shows are sold out. Two more showings on Feb. 1-2 have been added. Visit harbourchronicles.com or baytheatre.com for more information.
