When the Surfer Poll added a women’s division in 1964, Capistrano Beach’s Joyce Hoffman was an obvious choice. The stepdaughter of big-wave pioneer Walter Hoffman, Joyce was fiercely competitive, a character trait that drove her surfing. She won the women’s world title in ’65 and ’66, and throughout the decade was the only woman to ride Sunset routinely. In 1968 she became the first woman to tackle Pipe, and throughout her career was one of the most viable surfers in the U.S. After the advent of the shortboard revolution, however, she quietly stepped out of the public’s eye. Even after professional life, she remained around surfing and surfers. She is related to Flippy Hoffman, Herbie Fletcher and his sons Christian and Nathan.