Gul boards

Apparently Fistral blu is no more, so Graham has been helping collect the Gul boards from there and return them to the mothership. On the way he got a few photos of the rare craft.

cheers Gray.

old ads part3

1989 A few more of those very classic ads from the 80s, when the surf industry wasn't quite as slick as it is now; but if I had a time machine I'd go back there now to uncrowded lineups, all those different boards available and ...Maggie Thatcher?

'81

'81

'81

'81

'82

surf scene girls '82

london

It was time for something completely different last wednesday. Left sleepy Cornwall at 6 am for the big smoke, and went up in a helicopter with artist Neil Pinkett to get some aerial compositions for a show of London paintings next year. Never been in a small copter before and was hoping it wouldn't kick off some crazy attack of vertigo as I was on the front seat and it was all glass in front of me. Neil had asked for his door off in a brave pre scheduled moment, and I think my remeniscences of why helicopters should really have big parachutes wasn't helping anyone. Once up it was all cool, if a bit wierdly sideways at times...

logo site

I started a new blog, which will be an exhaustive and only slightly nerdy foray into surfboard logo design in the UK. Take a look, Ive got quite a few on there already, if anyones got any to add ( upto around late 80s/ 1990 ish) send em over. http://uksurflogos.blogspot.com/

Tigger Newling surfboards - a bit of history

Tig 6ft singlefin 1970. This one has 3270 written along the stringer behind the fin, which according to Tigger means it was the 32nd board he shaped in 1970.
Here is some stuff and history about Tigger's surfboards, written in an email from him to Alex about a board Alex has.-

'My first foray into surfboard building was under the TIG surfboards label which was 1969-1970 when I worked out of the greenhouse at Rosmerrin, Treyarnon Bay.

TIGGER NEWLING SURFBOARDS, all had the optical illusion triangle logo, which I designed.
This was my second phase of board building, I did everything from design, shaping to finishing and sales, the workshop was located on the St Merryn Airfield in an alleyway adjacent to Airfield Studios. Later I moved to the Chapel when I entered the Jolly Good surfboards phase.
THE TNS phase was when I won the British Championships at Freshwater West in Pembroke in Summer 73. The board I rode was similar to yours and the outline in the poster. 6'6" x 19 Round Pin.
It is the board on the roof rack of the trusty 2CV. Shot taken at Freshwater west. I am ***** frozen. I like the blue smiley face on the windscreen.

I would date your board (above) between may '73 and november '74. With the likelihood of '73 because of the small hindu/ buddhist icon on the bottom, which I think I only used during the beginning of the Tigger Newling surfboards phase.

The Pops Patch address was my home. A shanty up behind the Constantine Bay stores comprised of a Caravan and a lean to shed where I lived with my then wife Jean.


This phase of design which your board typifies, was influenced by Australian and Hawaiian Design. Especially Terry Fizgerald's Hot Buttered Surfboards, and the surfing of Wayne Lynch, Michael Petersen and Nat Young. On the Hawaiian side Dick Brewer's Outlines and the surfing and shaping of Reno Abellira.


I was still mulling over what I learned on my trip to Australia for the world Titles in 1970, which saw "one hit wonder" Rolf Aurness demonstrate on his 7'0" pintails that you needed a bit more length and speed than the 6'0" Aussie elliptical boards if you wanted to surf Bells well on a single fin.




After returning from Hawaii in Summer 75 I started Jolly Good Surfboards, most of which were shaped by me in the Chapel on St Merryn Airfields and laminated and finished by Johnny Manetta at Tris Surfboards in Porthtowan. That label ends with my departure for Australia in late 1976.'

Jolly Good singlefin

Observer magazine 1969 the Newlings

This is an article about the very surf active Newling family, from August 1969, with Tigger on the cover. Well done to Alex for finding a copy. If you can read all the writing you've got better eyesight than me.

Swapsies

gonna be loading some booty in the wagon and headin up to the north country, to meet a friend and do some swapsies. Old booty for new old booty.

Cheyne

Past blog contributor Martin Connolly sent over this pic of him with his first board in 1989, and had a hunch he might have seen it again on the blog. And he's right , its my 5'10 Cheyne Horan made by Chris Jones in Newquay in around 1983. What are the chances ? Its easily recognised by the array of classic 80s stickers.

Below - the man himself

Hendy & Harber

It was with the excitement of a twitcher spotting a golden eagle that I read an email from Tom, who found a Hendy & Harber whilst sorting his dad's attic. His dad owned it from new, and it still has the old wax and a 1971 Newquay licence, and Tom doubts its been used since. He also sent a photo of his dad surfing it in 1970, see below, a classic image.

H&H didn't make a lot of boards, and many are now extinct. Although the label says Newquay, they were actually made in the village of Roche, near St Austell. It seems production of Hendy & Harber boards began in 1969 and ceased in 1972, during which time Rob Hendy estimates they turned out about 200 boards.
These were sold at various outlets: a shop in Hayle, Mick Jackman's "Maui" shop by the old Blue Lagoon (next to Great Western), John Conway's shop in Fore Street, but mostly by word of mouth. A guy called "Buttercup" , an Aussie lifeguard who worked Fistral beach did quite a bit of shaping as did Rob Hendy, another guy called John Bell did sanding, plus there were guest shapers invited for short periods. Gary Harber was solely on the financial side . The premises were upstairs of the grocery shop owned by Gary's Dad - I wonder if the residents of Roche ate fruit and veg covered in a fine layer of resin dust ?! The building is now flattened, and the history of H&H has become lost in the mists of time, resurrected only by the memories of people like Rob Hendy and Graham, so thanks to them.
Its a good looking board, a 7'3 'double ender' with a pretty eggshell green tint. And I like the fact its been in an attic for 40 years, a real time capsule. It has a Bilbo fin system , as did most of the H&H's ,with an orange fin. I look forward to seeing it in the flesh when I go to visit Tom next week. Cheers to Tom for the photos.

Tom's dad riding the H&H, 1970

Photo of Tom's aunt taken in 1967 with a nice evolution style singlefin.

Watergate skate

Alex has sent in these photos of Rod Sumpter filming some skaters back in 1977. The bowl is at Watergate bay, round the back of the hotel and was only there for a while. The photos were taken during the 1977 Watergate surf open, hence the crowd.