Two that got away

Heres two nice boards that were listed on ebay and then mysteriously vanished after two days - no it wasnt me that phoned in a big offer, I'll just call them another two that got away. A bilbo late 60s 6'4 egg and a Freedom 6'2 single fin by Steve Harewood , early 70s . If you got them you've done well as they look pretty much unridden.

1970s Hot Buttered surfboards twin fin by Terry Fitzgerald

Classic late 70s twinnie by Australian legendry surfer / shaper Terry Fitzgerald. The board was made in Australia and made its way over to England in the mid 80s . It obviously hasn't been surfed much as its in great condition with nice rainbow fins and yellow tint.

Hot Buttered was a big brand in the 70s and 80s , sold over here by Ocean Magic in the 80s .The dimensions are 6'2 x 19 3/4 x 2 3/4, numbered 5568 . 70s hot buttered boards with srays by Martin Worthington fetch huge prices ; no spray on this one but its still a beaut. Another top surfer shaper for the brand was Derek Hynd , who has a personal decal on the deck by the leash plug.

Terry Fitzgerald the sultan of speed

Shot entitled 'Om lotus with stogie' , Surfer magazine 1975. Check out some footage at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wzz5R8wLJw

early 1980s Ocean Magic 2 1/2 fin

Heres another nice early 80s board shaped by European champion Nigel Semmens for his great Ocean Magic label, numbered om 1137. It has a 2 1/2 fin set up , popular in the early 80s, and a great spray on the underside of a night sky with beams of light. It has a stinger swallow tail and is 5'10 x 20 1/4 x 2 3/4. Made at the Lane, Newquay factory.

Nigel Semmens and Ocean Magic ads 1983

Taken from Tube News , may '83.

Vintage Weber surfboards Australia single fin

Gary Elkerton meets the Weber when it was in the Surfing Museum.

Unusual s-decked Dewey Weber single fin made in a revolutionary time of board evolution mainly initiated by the Aussies. Although this board was made in America it was branded Weber Australia to cash in on the hot Oz design features of the time. Nat Young had joined the weber team in 1967/8 and influenced board design with down rails, shorter length and scoop or s-decks. The board has a George Greenough variable waveset fin which has precise settings forward and back. The dimensions are 6'6 x 20 1/2 x 3 , and was made in 1969 , shaper unreadable, looks a bit like NY or IN ?

It was imported and sold by Jay's surf shop in 1970 to a surfer from Kent ; Jay's was London's first surf shop ! I know a bit about the boards history because it was owned by the British Surfing Museum . Its a thick board , especially in the middle of the domed deck, but its surprisingly nice to ride, no leash plug of course.

Dewey Weber and Nat Young

Top - Weber and Nat Young at Makaha in 1968 , photo Grannis.
Bottom - Nat Young on a Weber at Haleiwa in 1968.

Ocean Magic twin fin by Nigel Semmens

Nice early Ocean Magic, the Nigel Semmens model ,shaped by Nigel and numbered OM 58. The spray and glassing is by Gearbox aka Martin Geary. Its a fun looking twin fin with the ill fated G&S star fins ; I think these fins were home made replacements since most star fins broke. It has Clark foam 'super light' , obviously an important feature at the time as the clark foam decal covers the Ocean Magic logo. The board was made in the Lane, Newquay factory in around 1979 / 80 , and needs a bit of tlc. The dimensions are 5'7 x 20 1/2 x 2 1/2.

Semmens was one of the most successful British surfers of his era, winning the British title in 1979 and the European title in 1981. He made a good living from shaping and contests , and took over Ocean Magic from Pete McAllum to make it one of the UK's top surfboard brands. Nigel and Ocean Magic are still going strong in Newquay.

Circle one surfboard by Jeff Townsley

Here's a nice single fin with a beautiful dark pink tint and red pinline. Shaped by Jeff Townsley in Exeter in the early 70s ; when I got it there was an 80s full deck grip on it which was peeled off to reveal the board as it should be. It has a delicate rounded pintail and small stinger which have done well to survive the years.

Circle One was a big brand in the 70s and is still going strong today with Jeff still shaping.

Board meeting

Heres some pics of the collection a few years ago with some of Nick's boards .The beauty of a resin tint in the summer sun ..... some boards have been sold , others part exed , but most are still with us and new arrivals are always welcomed with open arms and a ding repair kit .

Fins

We like fins ........

In order of appearance , Greenough waveset single fin on a late 60s Dewey Weber ; a late 70s Hot Buttered twin fin ; an early 80s Ocean Magic 2 1/2 fin; an early 70s Wavecraft twin keeler ; a late 80s Tom Hoye five fin gun for Rob Ward.

Silver Wings single fin by Kevin Cross ( Creamed Honey )

Rare Silver Wings single fin shaped by Kevin Cross. Cross was an Australian lifeguard who took up residence in Cornwall in the late 60s and later moved up to North Devon to shape boards under his iconic Creamed Honey label ,some of the most sought after vintage boards in Britain today.

I can't find anything about Silver Wings boards ; since the logo says Watergate Bay I'm guessing he made this before starting up Creamed Honey ; the board is numbered 80 or 08 so it was made close to the start of his shaping career. Anyone else know anything about Silver Wings ?

This board has had a strange life preserved under four layers of spray paint put on in the 80s by the designs to make the board look a bit more up to date. My friend Geordie Al spotted the boards potential and we spent an afternoon with a sander doing surfboard archaeology and ended up uncovering this little beauty. The dimensions are 7'2 x 19 1/2 x 2 1/4 , with a small stinger and swallow tail, dating to around '69 or '70 . It has a great deep red tint with an orange pinline , and surfs really well in overhead waves.

1980s T&C surfboard by Neil Perrow

Unusual Town and Country with great artwork dating from about 1985. Its shaped by Neil Perrow who is now based in Perranporth , not sure where he was when he shaped it but I'd guess the board was made under European licence from T&C Hawaii.

I love the deck design , its original and under the glassing, a cross between graffitti and Jackson Pollock ! The deck also has a textured finish from the cloth, an alternative or an aid to wax ?The underside has a gloss finish and some nice neon 80s stickers. The dimensions are 5'11 x 19 1/3 x2 1/6.