At the sun-drenched south entrance of the Redondo Beach Pier an enormous crowd had gathered Sunday morning. They surrounded an innocuous blue sheet covering the newly forged bust of George Freeth. People of all ages hushed as City Councilman Pat Aust stepped to the lectern.

Aust delivered a heartfelt speech recalling the epic story of George Freeth, recalling the surfer, lifesaver, community activist and Congressional Medal recipient. His voice quavered with emotion as he spoke of the uniquely Californian American mythos that was Freeth, a man who came to Redondo Beach as a 24 year old with nothing but a suitcase and taught a coastline to walk on water.

Because of Freeth, the discipline of lifeguarding was brought to California, and countless lives were saved. He died of influenza in 1919 and was summarily commemorated with a bronze bust in 1977. There the bust presided until it was stolen two years ago.

Body Glove founder Bob Meistrell immediately offered a $5,000 dollar reward, and a group calling themselves the Friends of Freeth raised the money for the creation of new bronze bust. KellyO, daughter of original sculptor Terry O'Donnell, helped them recast it using her father's original molds.

The Friends of Freeth and KellyO sat at the front of the proceedings Sunday morning wearing Hawaiian prints and flower leis. When the sheet was removed, revealing a stunning likeness of Freeth, those wearing leis draped them around the bust.

KellyO said the unveiling of the original statue in 1977 was decidedly smaller. "I would have never expected so many people to be here," she said.

She said she ran into a problem recasting the bust. It seems her father would routinely slash his latex molds with a razor blade so that no re-creation could be made.

"It was like forensic sculpting," she said. "The first one came out, after we had used the scored mold, and it looked like he had a stroke." Through research into old photos of Freeth, KellyO was eventually able to perfectly re-create the bust that her father crafted 33 years ago.

The bust now stands on top of a stone podium at the center of a compass rose. The area has been renamed George Freeth Heritage Plaza of Surfing and Lifeguarding.