wearing a 60s wetsuit

made by Lillywhites of Picadilly from the mid 60s. The collar predates echo beach by a few years !

the cheesy catalogue pose

the flapper

Gul suit, late 60s

Isle of Wight surfers Colin Burgess, John Ainsworth and Roger Backhouse got their suits mail order from Lillywhites

I recently picked up this 60s Lillywhites of Picadilly beavertail wetsuit and decided I had to try it on before it goes to the Surfing Museum. Above and beyond the call of duty mabye but it was acually more comfortable than I thought it would be. There were a few wierd things like you squeak when you walk and its not exactly elasto. Didn't want to pick anything off the floor or I thought the arse might go !But it was bloody hot , must have been a revolution to the surfers who beforehand had been wearing wooly jumpers in the water to keep warm ! The Lillywhites suits were actually for scuba diving but they did the job for surfers and could be bought mail order. The first Gul suits were based on suits like this.

Bilbo stinger singlefin

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but there can't be many Bilbo stingers out there ! When I think of stingers I think Ben Aipa who designed them in '74 and they really became popular in the mid 70s with Mark Richards riding an Aipa quiver in '76/'77. But the Bilbo factory stopped producing in the very early 70s after a devastating fire, so how can we explain the stinger. Was the Bilbo shaper at the cutting edge of board design, or was it a later board using old decals. I'd like to think its the former, the board has great quality, nice pinlining and a lovely eggshell blue tint. It had a swallow tail which is a bit worn away now, and a leash loop rather than a later plug. From Chris' collection.

first surf

It was a proud day for me yesterday as Kitty had her first proper surf, age three and dwarfed by her bodyboard. Her maiden surf spot was Perranuthnoe and she was super stoked, especially with her vintage boogie

Chris' place

Popped round to Chris' place today to have a look at what he calls his collection of ugly surfboards. Sure they've got a few dings and dust but it was great having a nose around his boards, which he has leisurely collected over 20+ years. Some of the gems include a Williams log from the St Ives Surfers store, a 1st generation Skewjack twinnie complete with artwork, a Bilbo stinger and a roof full of Bilbo logs. I'll show some of his boards in more detail in the next couple of days. Thanks to Chris for sharing his stuff.

legend

Freedom rider by Steve Harewood

Here's a great little Freedom from Jersey, shaped by Steve Harewood in around '69 or '70 during the shortboard revolution. Its short and stubby, pretty much like the eggs Peterson and others were using in Australia - although they went to extremes with Nat Young riding a 5 1/2 ft board. This board is the Freedom Rider model, also the title of a Traffic song from the same era. It has an s-deck to keep volume up and a huge almost 12 inch Australian variable fin, which seems way too big for the board ! A beautifully made board which has survived well, bought recently from up in the north east. On the fin is the owners name - T Wharam

surf vids

If like me you're stuck in the dark ages still watching ye olde vhs video tapes, you may be interested in these classics. They are surrplus to requirements after I got a load from the car boot sale. Includes two of the best vids of the 70s, 5 Summer stories and Freeride, plus the hot generation by Witzig from the late 60s and Adrift with Joel Tudor. All work fine as far as I know, make me an offer and it could be your lucky day. ps correction Freeride is THE best vid of the 70s

up north

The waves on Scotland's north shore were first publisized by Kiwi traveller Bob Treeby who wrote an article about them in Surf Insight in 1973. Soon a strong surf scene grew up around these gems. Black and white photos by Alex Williams in 1978 from his book Atlantic Surfers. Above -Steve Daniel.

Paul Bassford

Thurso east

Nigel Semmens 1979 from Atlantic Surfer

Carwyn Williams in his white wetsuit at Brims Ness, 1983, up for the British champs . Photo Pete Bounds

Newquay surfrider bellyboard from the 60s, probably a pretty cheap one as it doesn't have any rocker at the nose; nice logo though. The bellyboard world champs is coming up soon at Chapelporth.

'baywatch pt 2

A second look at some nice old boards which have been through ebay.

Above Tiki fully restored, below Martin Richard by Martin Geary.

Tiki

Spirit stinger, never heard of this one, nice butterfly.

Ben Aipa stinger from the US

Bolt by Robery Liddel

80s Freedoms, Bobby Male which resembles an 80s ski jacket, and below by Steve Harewood, echoes of Al Merrick

classic Wave Graffitti