Holy crap - just two out of many surfboards for sale at the recent Hawaiian vintage auction. Would you pay that much for a surfboard ? I know I wouldn't unless I was so unbelievably rich I just wanted to get rid of the money somehow. Part of the fun for me is that vintage boards over here are cheap and humble but still have great history if you do a bit of delving.Plus repair them youself and you'll learn alot more about the board. Mabye its just my skinflint approach to collecting... do love that crazy tail Bolt though !

Ju Surfboards

Alan sent in these photos of a friend's board and asked if I knew about this label. The board was bought at a surf shop in Bude in the very late 60s, was surfed at Woolacombe , and hasn't been in the water for nearly 15 years. I would say the Bude connection is a big clue. Paul 'Ju' Jury was one of the hot up and coming Bude local surfers in the late 60s and I'd imagine this must be one of his first results from the shaping room, and a rare board I'm sure. Very typical of a late 60s transitional diamond tail, similar to boards being produced by Bilbo and H&H , but lacking their more professional finish. Paul turned into a very professional shaper though in the 70s, working in Hawaii ,and Australia under Phil Byrne , then returning to Bude for the 80s and making General surfboards. Ju very sadly died during a surf in powerful waves at a reef in the Philippines.

Anyone else know about these early Ju boards ?

1987

ps - if you missed the recent Big Chill exhibition about surfing history in Kent, or like me lived too far away to get to it, here's a BBC report about it - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14185702

Simon Anderson Energy single fin

The blog has a very international feel at the moment - and continuing this here is a lovely singlefin sent in by Wayne. Dating from the late 70s, an original Simon Anderson model Energy, roundtail and flowing lines great for carving big faces at Bells and tucking in for a cheeky barrel. Simon excelled in waves like this (on his day) with his powerful style and great positioning.
The only thing was he had trouble surfing singlefins in small waves, when he found them too stiff and sluggish. He could see twin fins performed well in small waves but wanted something a bit less slidey and more positive. Frank Williams' (local Narrabeen shaper ) twin fin plus small central keel designs got Simon thinking and he made a prototpye with two side fins and a slightly bigger back fin. But because the back fin stuck out past the tail he sanded it down and ended up with three fins the same size. The first surf on it showed him the design had potential - an all round board on small and large waves - he just had to prove the design to everyone else.

Thanks to Wayne for the photos. Love the Energy logo and sprays.

Simon Anderson, Dee Why Point, 1978, photo by Art Brewer.

At North Narrabeen 1975, photo by Steve Cooney.

This was on ebay last week, another South African made one but made for the UK market - says on stringer. Stunning spray which must have taken ages to do, and it went for a healthy price to ?

1980s Quiksilver shorts

If you were looking for an item of clothing that defined surfwear in the early 80s, for my money it would be these Echo Beach shorts , owned from new by Mark in Hayle. Quiksilver introduced the Echo Beach range of shorts in 1980, and the radical polka dots, harlequins, stars and checks soon set them apart from other companies whose products started to look way too conservative in comparison. The style came from the scene at Newport beach in California , 'the hottest hundred yards' which was producing explosive surfing and a look all of its own .Rockabilly meets punk meets polka dots and checks - what a combination ! Thanks to Mark for the photos.

Mark in his shorts at Holywell bay, early 80s

Echo Beach / Partners and Spade from gutobarra on Vimeo.

from Surfing 1979 .Main pic McCoy ripper Danny Kwock, one of the main figureheads of Newport beach surfing at the time.

Jersey's Renny Gould ,early 80s - the Echo Beach look filtered across to us in quite a big way.Photo by Alex W.

Now I'm not saying Damien Hirst was influenced by boardshorts - but he made coloured polka dots iconic again in the late 90s.

Summer in the 80s

Carwyn Williams, Lacanau '86

Back in the 80s the summers seemed just a little bit brighter .....or was that just the day glo boards and suits ? Fistral was holding its first world tour events in front of huge crowds; up and down the coast flourescent twins, quads and trusters were tearing waves apart with new and more radical moves; in summertime there was a big shift down to France and further, epitomised by Carwyn and his crew living on the beach and in the forests around Hossegor, leaving a bit more space back home, plus windsurfing was becoming the new big watersport, attracting would be surfers and keeping shapers' order books full.

Carwyn and friends, French forest '86

Dean and Steve Winter and Lee Bartlett, France.

Maurice Cole, France '88

Mike Raven '86

Fistral comp, '86

Andy Cranston, Vitamin Sea sprayer.

Nigel Semmens, Steve Daniel, in Oz for the stubbies, 1980.

France '86

Ben Banford with sprays - only in the 80s !

Rudy Ski, Porthmeor.

Nigel Woodcock and a couple of his shapes '84

Paul Bassford, Porthleven '83.

Pete Jones, Fistral '81.

Rob, Carwyn, Phil . On the nudie beach, France.

Sam Jenkins, Penhale '86

Sam Jenkins, Jersey '86. unmissable wetsuit.

Simon Tucker , Fistral '86.

Ted Deerhurst, fistral comp early 80s

Ocean Magic team rider

The equivalent of a line of transporters today. Classic summery vw s.


All of these photos were taken by Alex Williams, who by the 80s was a successful young photographer travelling the world and working for surf and windsurfing mags and companies in Europe, the US and Australia , but still very aware of his roots and surfing in Devon. Thanks to Alex.

Wavelength

The august issue of Wavelength is out now and definitely a worthy purchase - why ? because its the 30th anniversary issue , it has a three page article about the surf meet, an article about Pete and the museum of British surfing ,and is full of classic old photos including Alex Williams and articles by legends. Need I say more......? The John Conway photo on the cover gives the game away that this is a special issue for us 'vintage' surfers. Thanks to Greg Martin for doing the surf meet article. The meet will be on again at Lusty Glaze early next summer - details to follow.

Freedom fest

Here's a great collection of Freedoms sent in by Jean Pierre from - predictably - Jersey. As the island's big board maker from the late 60s to the late 80s, there must be quite a few Freedoms hanging around. Many of jp's boards have the original Jersey permits from the 70s, which is nice to see. Shapers include Steve Harewood, Bobby Male, Gordon Jackson for the 80s thruster, and Paul Gross, who I haven't heard of before,for the green twin fin on the end. The board on the left is the first ever Freedom shaped in 1968 by Steve Harewood and based on a US Challenger feather. A great range from the clean lines and simplicity of the early boards through to the squat boards with jazzy sprays of the 80s. Thanks to Jean Pierre and keep looking..

These are my prized Freedoms - the left two are by Steve Harewood, 6'2 x 20 3/4 and 6'10 x 20 3/4; and the two on the right are by Bobby Male ,6'6 x 20 1/2 and 6'8 x 22. Although they look in good condition they've had a lot of use over the years.

By Steve Harewood, 1970.

Early 70s Freedom owned and well surfed by Jamie Pardoe.

Bobby Male, 80s. photo by Gerry George.

Steve Harewood today