The "Get Wet" cap

Message

N1095A · #16 Post by **N1095A** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 4:41 pm

I sent an email to Keone Downing, owner of Get Wet !. I thought it it was worth a shot, maybe there was an old box of caps on a dusty shelf somewhere.... Anyyway, he replied that the caps have been long sold out, but if they were reissued he's contact me. The following is my reply to his reply.

"Dear Mr. Downing,

Thank You very much for your reply. I am VERY interested in purchacing several of these caps. Please keep my contact information. I realize that if you do decide to do a reissue, it may be some time before that happens. I am part of a 325 member internet group that also has many interested in this particular cap. the site is www.magnum-mania.com. In fact, I believe someone else from the board contacted your store by telephone. As I'm sure you are aware, this cap was worn by Tom Selleck in four episodes of the television show Magnum, P.I. I know this may sound like some sort of strange Star Trek-like fan group, but I assure you while we all love the show, we are not as fanatical as some fans of the Sci-Fi Genre. Many of us simply want a genuine artifact from the show that can be worn without being too obvious. My personal goal is to duplicate the hat rack displayed in the show, complete with representations of "Magnum's" caps. I'm well on my way to reaching this point, but there are a few caps that are difficult to obtain as the show ended 20 years ago. The "Get Wet" cap is one that would nicely represent our fondness of the show. It would give your company some advertisement all over the world, as we have members in every part of the U.S. and worldwide. Again, please keep my contact information, and when/if the cap is reissued, I'll look forward to announcing on our message board. Also, I would like to invite you to explore the website www.magnum-mania.com , and join our message board. It's free of charge. Not only is the site the world's authority on all things Magnum, P.I., but it's a great resource for information on Hawaii, Television production, and a host of other topics. We especially look forward to hearing from those associated with the show, no matter how big or small that association may be. We are a very friendly group dedicated to meeting,exchanging, and helping other Magnum, P.I. fans through out the world.

Thank you sincerely,

Michael Brown"

You never know, he may decide there's enough interest to reissue ths cap, He may write it off as a bunch of crazed Star Trek fans, I hope he decides to check out our site, and reissue the cap.

#17 Post by **J.J. Walters** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 6:24 pm

Nice reply Mike.

Neat, Keone Downing and his father George are pretty famous Hawaiian surfers/surfboard makers. George Downing was apparently an early pioneer in big wave surfing during the late '40s and '50s and he created/runs the annual Quiksilver Eddie Aikau Memorial event held in the large surf at Waimea Bay. Keone was also a top outrigger canoe paddle racer, winning five Molokai to Oahu races in the '80s! You can read more about both of them here. Very cool.

The Encyclopedia of Surfing wrote:In the 1990 Quiksilver/Aikau event, still considered by many to be the most exciting big-wave contest ever seen, [Keone] Downing was regarded as a longshot contender. But he selected waves perfectly, went through the one-day event without so much as a slip or bobble, and led from start to finish. He rode a beautifully streamline board shaped by his father. Downing's $55,000 winner's check was the sport's biggest-ever cash prize at the time.

I wonder if somebody on the show had some connection to the Downings or Get Wet!. Maybe Tom knew them and wanted to give them some free pub?

IKnowWhatYoureThinking · Wed Dec 03, 2008 7:25 pm

Maybe he'll feel generous anf float yo ua hat unexpectadly!

PhatCat · #19 Post by **PhatCat** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 9:48 pm

Nicely worded response, N1095A!

N1095A · #20 Post by **N1095A** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 9:55 pm

Thanks for your kind words. Interesting info on the Molokai to Oahu races. I think the best TM ever did was 17th behind a 12 year old girl. Well, she was 13 by then.

Also interesting that they went to certain lengths to hide logos, I.E. Coops etc, but openly showed the Get Wet logo. I think that was a very cool bit of local promotion.
I'm really hoping that Mr. Downing will consider doing some of the classic caps. How cool would that be? James, Is there any place on the on the site a link to the Downing website would be appropriate. Maybe a description of the cap in the Magnum Gear section?? Just a thought.

rubber chicken · #21 Post by **rubber chicken** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 4:54 am

James J. Walters wrote:I wonder if somebody on the show had some connection to the Downings or Get Wet!. Maybe Tom knew them and wanted to give them some free pub?

That's what I had wondered. The small list of hats Mr. Selleck wore during eight years on the show seems to indicate that he only wore what he wanted to. Maybe he knew Mr. Downing or they were even friends. Seems that for Mr. Selleck, the hat would have had some meaning for him to wear it.

Sam · #22 Post by **Sam** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 3:09 pm

Miss Q.I never reach my monthly minutes on the cell phone so it was just minutes used.The lady was very friendly and helpful.

N1095A · #23 Post by **N1095A** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 4:13 pm

In case anyone's interested, here are some Youtubes with Keone Downing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6DIEFF1dlk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgtlXcHEYs4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82LyLE1Ur6Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRd3uGhnl-Y

only looking · #24 Post by **only looking** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 4:51 pm

Hey Mike..GREAT WORK. I went over the videos and came up with drowning Hawaii...then I figured with the D's on the side it made some sense

..at least I know I was close..LOL. Does the G in get wet go over the word Downing...hard to tell. I think me and you are on the same path...making the hat and hat rack.I posted last year over on the Da Nang forum about it, but haven't had much luck. I've told you horror stories when I pm'd you...LOL. Keep up the great work.Also did you ever find that green border trident patch?

Sam · #25 Post by **Sam** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:21 pm

OL.
If you haven't seen this,I posted the pic of the hat rack last year.You can see the hardware,if you can find them it should be fairly easy to approximate the length of the board.

N1095A · #26 Post by **N1095A** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:35 pm

Interesting, there are only 3 hooks. I thought there were 4. Home Depot sells a rack that's nearly identical for about $25.00. Same knobs and everything.
As for the caps, I've had my trials and tribulations getting them done as well, as I said before. No luck yet on the OD border SEAL patch. Their website is tough to navigate, and entering the item number didn't do it . I will press on. I did find a duck hunter camo cap with plain green mesh back, but it has an embroidered logo on it. Ironically, I accidently linked to it through the Downing Hawaii site. Now I can't find it again.

Correction, DUH! the 4th hook is behind the picture. I'm an idiot

Anyway, the ones I saw at Home Depot only had 3 hooks. They had a similar one with 4 hooks, but with stainless steel hooks, not brass, and the knobs were smaller. Also, on the 4 hook model, the wood was much narrower top to bottom.

Carmen · #27 Post by **Carmen** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:10 am

In "Dream a little dream" there are several Downing boards to be seen.
Go to the S4 Dream a little...thread and you can see one in a photo James posted there

N1095A · #28 Post by **N1095A** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 3:57 pm

Hey, Great catch Carmen!

Kudos to James for catching a great shot of the Downing surfboard during an action sequence too!!

IKnowWhatYoureThinking · Fri Dec 05, 2008 4:40 pm

Looks like the company got quite a bit of free advertising from Magnum!

#30 Post by **J.J. Walters** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 7:32 am

Hey, nice spot there on the Downing boards in "Dream A Little Dream" Carmen! I just got lucky with that screen cap. I wonder if that is Keone waxing the board?