My first 'new' new board for years

Theres a bit of a similarity in the mcCoy and this late 60s backyard UK board in outline - ok only a bit.

After years of buying 2nd hand boards I've just taken delivery of this lovely shiny Jack McCoy nugget. I've surfed single fins for ages and wanted something with the same volume and weight but with a different template and radically for me, 3 fins ! This board looks like it will fly and give a lot more control in the pocket so I can't wait ! Just like a single fin you have to get the weight on the tail to do a short arc turn. Luckily my local surfshop is the only one in the northern hemisphere ( so they say ) thats sells them. Its 6'8 x 21 x 3.

Some more nice McCoys

Here are a few classic McCoys, there's many to choose from ! Above is an early 70s singlefin with a beautiful spray. Below is a stunner, a Cheyne Horan model from the end of the 70s , from the collection of www.vintagehawaiiansurfboards.com .

Cheyne Horan with the legendary Lazor Zap.

Shoreline Surfboards single fin

Continuing with my weekly check on whats been on ebay, this caught my eye, a rare singlefin made by the little known Shoreline surfboards of Watergate Bay, Cornwall. I don't know if this make is familiar to anyone out there but its a new one to me. Its 7 ft and the seller dates it to 1968, theres no shapers name and the logo looks hand drawn, interesting board though and it goes to show there's more surfing companies than you think.

Early 1980s Ocean Magic twin fin

Here's a beauty from the early 80s by talented shaper and comp surfer Nigel Semmens. This one's got the whole deal, six channels, triple stinger tail ,nice spray and big twin fins. Its a nice size, a bit bigger than a lot of magics of the era, at 6'3 x 20 3/4 x 2 1/3. Its got the nice flat deck of the time with little rocker and a slightly wider 70s style nose. Signed OM 1200 NS.

The 3 magics.

From Surf Scene 1980.

Nigel models Gul, Surf Scene 1981.

A few more Surfs

Here are some more copies of Surf sent by Graham with some great covers, dating from 1977 and '78 , plus no.1 of the modern Surf ( incorporating Surf Scene ) from 1989with a nice shot of Carwyn Williams on the cover. Cheers Graham.

Very clean

Thanks to James for sending this classic Tigger ad from his pop's patch days.

Freedom singlefin by Bobby Male

Freedom boss Steve Harewood with a similar board, mid to late '70s.

Freedom ad featuring Bobby Male, 1981.

The Freedom's sales receipt from Studs sports shop (nice name ) 1978.

Here's one of my favourite boards, a 6'6 singlefin by Freedom surfboards of Jersey, definitely one of the best UK surfboard makers. This one's very well preserved, the owner before me used to bring it down to Cornwall one week a year for his summer holiday, if there was no surf he wouldn't use it, which explains the great condition. He even gave me the original sales receipt from Stud's sports shop in Newquay; he said he got it 2nd hand in '78 so it was probably made around '75 or '76. It's shaped by the very talented surfer shaper Bobby Male, European champion and twice British champion in 1974 and '77. The board is great to ride, with a wide nose and lots of volume without being too thick or heavy. It has delicate stingers going into the trademark Freedom swallow tail. The dimensions are 6'6 x 20 1/4 x 2 1/4.

Haven Surfboards single fin by Roger Adams

Nice single fin shaped by Roger Adams, one of the talented crew of Bude surfers through the 70s. There is not a lot of info on offer about Haven surfboards, not a lot on google and Roger Mansfield gives it no mention in the Surfing Tribe. These boards do crop up though and are usually pretty nice. This one is signed Roger Adams 77 , unusual for a late 70s board ( if 77 is the date) ,as it has no stringer, just a green glue line, no leash plug and down rails - all features which say early 70s. The leash attachment is actually a circle of tough rubber glued to the board, I have seen this before on other old boards and its great till the glue gives way ! It has a nice airbrush on the deck of a surfer in a barrel with his arm and the tip of the board sticking out. Check out the thickness of the fin - beautiful to look at but not the sleekest. It still has the early registration stickers, always a bonus, from '77, '78 and '82.

70s Surf mags

Here are some more Surf covers dating from 1975 to 77, from Graham's excellent collection. I had not seen these ones before and since they're just sheets of paper stapled together I doubt many have survived as well as Graham's. Surf was the main British magazine through the mid 70s and competed with the more glossy Atlantic Surfer in the late 70s. The path of a 70s UK surfing mag was a rocky one with small readership numbers and little money in the bank from advertising, so most folded after a few years with huge debts. Surf probably lasted so long because of its no frills publishing, and these issues stand now as important records of what was happening in UK surfing, plus some great cover designs.