Clark Adler kissed the box filled with his father Steve's ashes before gently letting it sink to the sand at the bottom of the ocean.
Friends of Steve Adler surrounded his 13-year-old son, placing their hands on the big, green Stand Up Paddleboard, Steve's prize possession, where Clark sat.
Clark said the biggest lesson his father taught him over the years was "how to be a good person."
Many of the hundreds who gathered on the sand at Surfside beach on Sunday would have said Steve Adler was a great example of a good person, a mellow surfer with easygoing ways who always had a smile on his face.
The surfing and SUP community said goodbye to one of their own during a traditional paddle-out ceremony, with more than 350 people who sat or stood on boards offshore, held hands and splashed as memories were shared.
Steve Adler suffered an aneurysm in a vessel near his heart on March 11. He was 40.
"Adler was the most social butterfly you have ever met in your life," said Lyndon Cabellon, a friend for more than 20 years. "He touched so many people. Ask anyone on the beach – he had the biggest smile. He just had the biggest heart."
Steve Alder, who created a surfboard glassing shop when he was just 18, was a fixture in the surf community.
Most recently, he glassed boards for Tim Stamps, and also teamed up with business partner Jodie Nelson to create ......http://www.ocregister.com/articles/adler-244630-steve-clark.html
