Ocean Magic stinger

Here's another great board from the Gul collection, an Ocean Magic stinger from around 1977 probably shaped by Pete mooney McCallum. This board is based on the Ben Aipa stingers from Hawaii which made a big impression on the OM boys in the late 70s. Nigel says his favourite shaper of all time is Aipa. This board has the classic early logo which was gone by '79, with text very much like the old Creamed Honey logo. A fast looking board, definitely not for slop.

Surf scene 1980.

OM rider and shaper Nigel Semmens laying it over at Thurso, '78 ish .photo Alex Williams

Del Boy's thruster

When I think of Pina Colada I picture Del boy mixing a big one ( with umbrellas ) at his mini bar in the flat at Nelson Mandela house. If Del was a surfer, this would be his board, from the same mid 80s era, a Pina Colada tropical blend model by Roger Cooper, for Home Grown surfboards. I've just picked this up today and am loving the gloss coat, full on spray and just the time it took to write all the pina coladas and home growns. Its 6'11 x 20 3/4 x 2 1/4, so quite a big thruster, from '85 or '86 with Clark foam super light. Its in pretty good nick apart from the previous owner was a bit over zealous with red resin, I've already pulled a load off the nose and tail and the centre fin repair is a classic bodge job. As for the pina colada - something to do with the best materials from all over the world ? I think Roger was just an only fools and horses fan.

Boards made in South Wales by Roger - Hawaiian style quad and Home grown thruster

pioneers

A few classic photos of some of the many surfing pioneers from all over the UK.
Above South African lifeguards and Jersey surfers lineup for a paddleboard race at St Ouen, 1958. Photo by John Houlebecq.

John Smith and Ian Davies, Saltburn in the north east ,mid 60s

Langland bay crew, 1965, photo by John Goss.

Brighton pioneer Sean Mahoney, 1965, photo by Jerry Mahoney

Doug Wilson and Bill Bailey, Newquay 1963. Lifeguard Doug used to play his trumpet to let surfers know he was finishing for the day.

Robin Salomon and Ian Wishart, Mull of Kintyre 1970. I once shared the lineup here with an otter and have had some great uncrowded surfs here. Photo by Andy Bennets.

Boards against the wall at St Ives, september 1965. These shots show the strength of surfing in St Ives; in the early 60s it virtually overshadowed Newquay as the surfing capital

1970s Keo bellyboard

Got this little number at the car boot last sunday from Lloyd. Early 70s Keo bellyboard / paipo with a slightly scooped deck, dimensions 4ft x 22 3/4 x 2 1/4 with a dinky 6 1/2 inch fin. Love the little fin and and the strength of the red topcoat, still bright after all those years. Made by Stuart Keogh, who had a surf shop on fore st Newquay and a nearby factory; this board gives the address of Holywell bay. You don't see many early British bellyboards like this so it was worth snapping up even though it wasn't super cheap.

What do you do with those boards which are so knackered they're past the point of restoration ? Simple, make a surfboard fence ! Some may think they're artful , some an eyesore, but the smallholding on Maui below has become something of a tourist attraction, with boards being left on the drive for proud creator Donald Dettloff. He now has 400+ and hopes to fence all his land with all manner of floating ( or sinking !) craft.
Keep your eyes peeled for surfboard fences near you; my friend Sean found a perfectly good Vit Sea twinnie filling a gap in a hedge and acquired it for the price of a similar piece of plywood.

John Conway singlefin

An interesting board I picked up recently, I'm presuming its made by John Conway in Newquay in around 1969 ? It has a pretty basic Conway logo which looks almost hand stencilled, and is similar to the block Conway logos of later boards. Its also quite unusually shaped, with round nose, widest point further down than usual, coarse weave cloth on the deck area, down rails ( popular in '69 /'70) and an s deck. It has no wooden stringer, just green glue. It looks like a board made by a shaper who was trying lots of ideas out during the shortboard revolution, when loads of experiments were going on. It has a waveset adjustable fin from the US, and also a nice acid drag resin design on the bottom, a technique John learnt from working with Mick Jackman at Bickers. The dimensions are 7 ft x 21 1/4 x 3 in. John was probably only around 20 when the board was made.

From Surf Insight vol 1 no 1, 1972. The pics were taken at the Belmont place factory, down by the Red Lion pub. The guy kneeling down is Joe Hargreaves, Spencer's dad. Thanks to Graham for the photo.

Surf Scene part 2

Its back to the 80s with these classic covers from Surf Scene magazine. Surf Scene rivalled Wavelength as the top UK surf mag of the time, based in Cornwall and Devon and with focus on contests, travel and board design. Plus it had lots of quality photos by Alex Williams, Phil Holden, Pete Bounds etc . Above 1981 , Pete Russell.

still '81 , Nigel Semmens.

nice cover shot of Frank Gomis by Alex, 1982

Carwyn '87 in France again by Alex

and Carwyn again, in Oz 1989

export Bilbo longboard

Guilhem from Guethary has recently acquired this clean Bilbo 9'4 from around '66 or '67. This one was made in Newquay for export to the Jo Moraiz surf shop in Biarritz ,and has France written on the stringer and a Moraiz shop decal. Jo owned the first surf shop in France and took a few shipments of Bilbos. Guilhem remembers drooling at them in the shop when he was a boy, so had to have this one. Its been restored but is pretty tidy anyway, and has an unusual for the time pink airbrushed circle design on the deck, and coloured high density nose and tail blocks. Guilhem shapes under the Guethary surfboards label.

Jo Moraiz at La Barre 1965, photo by Joel de Rosnay

Rod Sumpter on a promotional tour of France with Bilbo, 1965. With Joel de Rosnay left and Aussie Wheels Williams.