The History of Surfing
Surfing Goes International
As we re-call surfing first came to California in 1907 to promote Huntington Rail Line - so it seems that right from the start surfing and commercialism went hand in hand as both the sport and the tourist travel industry evolved over the years.
So much for the "soul theory of surfing evolution". Yet, despite this capitalist drift, surfing is and always will be a sport of intense physical and cerebral excitement and the shared experience of riding waves is what's most responsible for its revival.
By 1912 surfing was beginning to expand from the Redondo Beach area with places like the Palos Verdes Cove being ridden. It was Duke Kahanamoku who brought surfboard riding to Australia. In 1912, C.D. Paterson, of Manly, had returned from Hawaii with a solid, heavy redwood board which a few local bodysurfers had tried to ride, but couldn't. Then three years later the New South Wales Swimming Assn. invited Duke Kahanamoku to swim at the Domain Baths in Sydney, where he broke his own world record for the 100 yards with a time of 53.8 seconds. While he was in Australia he made a tour of the beached and chose Freshwater to give an exhibition of the art of surfboard riding. He didn't know about the old redwood board in the district so he set to work to build his own out of piece of sugar pine supplied by a surf club member whose family was in the timber business.
Sunday morning. A clear, brilliant day. Spectators were milling around to watch. Manly Surf Boat was on had to give Duke assistance to drag his board through the break - an offered he laughed at good naturedly. Picking up his board he ran to the water's edge, slid on and paddled out through the breakers. He made better on time on the way out than the local swimmers who escorted him. Once out beyond the break it wasn't long before he picked up a wave in the northern corner, stood up and ran the board diagonally across the bay, continually beating the break. Duke showed the crowd everything in the book, from head stands to a finale of tandem surfing with a local girl, Isobel Latham.
At this point surfing truly became an international sport. As surfing was about re-creating itself all around the globe, another institution was about to emerge from the ranks . Board shaper - A kahuna from ancient times. Although the old traditions and rituals accompanying the act of selecting a tree had been replaced with a modern ritual - plunk down some cash for a plank and drag it home - the soul of the Kahuna expressed their desire to maintain a link with the past through the Shaper.
The board itself became the hero. George Freeth and Duke Kahanamoku, two of the first modern shapers had proven many times that the surfboard was a lifesaving tool - while thousands enjoyed the art of wave-sliding (he'enalu) hundreds owed their life to a board and a surfer. George Freeth became a national hero and earned both the Carnegie Medal for bravery and the Congressional Medal of Honor when in a particularly violent storm in December 1908, he made three trips through mountainous surf to rescue seven Japanese fisherman. At least 78 people owned their lives to his work as a lifeguard.
One June day in 1925 at Newport Beach, Duke Kahanamoku was enjoying a picnic with fellow actors when a pleasure yacht, the Thelma, capsized in raging offshore surf. Of the twenty-nine people on board that day, seventeen died. With his surfboard, Duke managed to save eight, battling his way out and back through churning white water, three times. Newport's police chief call Duke's performance "the most superhuman surfboard rescue act the world has ever seen".
By the late 1920's tourists flocked to Hawaii to experience the world's most famous beach -- Waikiki. Surfing was becoming very popular in southern California, partially because of the new and lighter hollow boards which were being produced by Tom Blake. The design was influenced by the ancient boards he had seem at the Bishop Museum. The original blank was 16' x 2' x 4' thick -- and about 150 pounds. It finished up 15' x 19" x 4" looking like a cigar but it was only 100lbs.
Over the next few years Blake and his good friend Duke Kahanamoku spent much time together shaping, surfing attempting world swim records and acting too, in Hollywood. Along with Johnny Weismuller, Duke and Tom were all world class swimmers and were constant companions on the southern California scene. In the late 20's while Duke and Weismuller were in Hollywood, Blake was in Santa Monica, building lighter paddle boards, finally getting the weight to 60 pounds. Soon these boards shapes were modified to wave riding.
From about the early 30’s surfers weren’t content anymore with simple wave riding - the surfers ambitons out-raced the equipment they had to work with. Ever since then the surfboard was the focus - pushing technology and design to provide boards that could match surfers skills. Leading the field was TOM BLAKE.
During the 20's techniques and equipment grew more and more refined and by 1928 a group of California surfers announced the 1st Pacific Coast Surfboard Championships. Adds in the Santa Ana Daily Register invited the public to bring their picnic baskets and enjoy a day at the beach watching surfboard riding by world famous figures such as Duke Kahanamoku, Tom Blake, George Freeth, and many more. Aug. 5, 1928 was the day of the big contest, and the largest crowd in the last five years was on hand to witness the event. This too was the day Tom Blake would introduce his latest invention, the Hallow Hawaiian Surfboard. Not everyone on the beach would appreciate his efforts though, because he was nearly laughed off the beach with his new board. As Blake recalls,
"When I appeared with it for the 1st time before 10,000 people gathered for a holiday, and to watch the races, it was regarded as silly. Handling this heavy board alone, I got off to a poor start, the rest of the field had gained a 30 yard lead in the meantime. it looked really bad for my board and my reputation and hundreds openly laughed. But a few minutes later it turned to applause because the big board lead the way to the finish of the 880 yard coarse by fully 100 yards."
Blake emerged from the water triumphant, and his reputation as an inventive ana keenly competitive waterman grew even stronger.
With this success the hallow board was on its way to revolutionize modern surfing, but not without the usual controversy along the way. Sides were taken on both sides of the boards. "Blake's Cigar" as it was called in Hawaii had set new records in the 100 yard and half mile paddling events of the Hawaiian Surfboard Paddling Championships on Jan. 1, 1930. Longtime Waikiki surfer and paddler Sam Reid recalled the controversy a 1955 memoir he wrote for the Honolulu Star Bulletin.
"It was a hollow victory , for Blake had hollowed out his 16 ft cigar board to 60 pounds weight , compared with an average 100 to 120 lbs.weight of the other 9 boards in the event." The purist demanded that all contests by limited to solid boards while others called it the beginning of a new era in surfing. Reid goes on to say reverberations of the hollow board tiff were heard from one end of the Ala Wai to the other and echoes can still be heard at Waikiki even today, 25 years later. At a meeting of the 3 surfing clubs, Outrigger, Hui Nalu, and Queens, held immediately after the disputed races, it was decided that henceforth there would be no limit whatsoever on the design of paddleboards.
Within a year, Reid said, surfboard builders were experimenting with all sorts of sizes, shapes, weights, and materials, including airplane fabric boards, hydroplane bottoms and converted single sculls. Imagination of design ran wild as he recalled.
Later in 1930 Blake received the first ever patent on a surfboard for his Hawaiian Hallow Surfboard. These 1st models were manufactured by their Thomas N. Rogers Co. in Venice,Ca. and a few years later by the L.A. Ladder co.
At this time too the Hawaiian scene were in full swing. Waikiki was the lap of luxury without a doubt. The tourist industry was bringing thousands of people every month to Waikiki . People from all over the world came to Waikiki, among these were many famous actors, musicians, filmmakers, and politicians.Among these early guests were Edward, The Prince of Wales, who created quite a stir when he stayed at the Moana Hotel and went for a outrigger ride. Also a few years later Shirley Temple, Bing Crosby, and many others were regularly scene at Waikiki. By this time the Beach Boys of Waikiki has become internationally famous not only for the surfing prowess, but also for their music, clowning antics, and colorful names. Who could forget names like Steamboat, Turkey Love, Rabbit, and Blue Molokai. Sarah Parks, the chief beachside and surfing corespondent for the Honolulu Star Bulletin during the 50's recalls some of these legends in her most memorable surfing column. Miss Parks suggested that a bored Honolulu hostess should
"Invite Waikiki's beachboys to partake of your board. Introductions She noted would go something like this: Hostess: Mrs McWorkel, this is Turkey. He'll be seated on your left. And on your right we have another man from the beach, Sally. And have you met Steamboat? And this is Steamboat Jr., and these are Steamboats relatives, Tugboat, Sailboat, Lifeboat, and Rowboat. Of course you've met Dad, and here are Curly, Splash, Rabbit, Tarzan ,Boss, Panama Dave, Blackout, Wata, Zulu, Mungo, Eight Ball, Nose, Scooter Boy, and oh... here comes Dead Eye.
Indeed what visitor to the world's most famous beach, doesn't yearn for the good old days when Da Boys would go out and ride "beeg ones" on their 12 ft and longer redwood surfboards.
By now in California another phenomenon was about to give surfing a big boost, the car had made it possible to range even further to look for the perfect waves, and this ritual was called the Surf Safari. Many a surfer would spend their weekends at San Onofre, Long Beach, or Palos Verdes. Surfers were a colorful and radical group in California's expanding population. These early California surfing pioneers were the ancestors of the Surfing Lifestyle we enjoy today. They were known for their colorful exploits, and for their party animal attitudes. However, these guys were no wannabe posers, anyone could throw a baseball, catch a football, or hack at a golf ball, but who the hell would want to carry the 100 plus pounds wood plank down the 2782 decent steps to Palos Verdes Cove, slip into the cool 50 degree Dec. water during a cold snap in a storm, and actually enjoy themselves. These guys were nuts, purple, and fully stoked. Early Calif. Surfers were he men of legendary stature, it was cold, it got big, and it took every ounce of your strength to surf, and the only thing you'd wish for at the end of the day was for a little more strength and just 1, no 2 more waves, and that's it. Compared to the Hawaiian Brothers who really had it going on in those days, there was very little glamour to surfing in the early California days. But that would change soon enough.
By 1935 Tom Blake was again at the leading edge of innovation. Ever since the beginning of surfing there was one peculiar drawback to board designs, and that was the boards propensity to slip sideways and always at a critical time in the maneuver.
Blakes innovation was to add a small fin at the bottom rear end of the boards. This allowed the surfer to pivot and turn more freely and with more lateral stability. Gone forever were the days of sliding ass, or straight off Adolph. This simple yet critical invention revolutionized surfing both for the spectator as well as for the surfer. Because the board became more maneuverable surfers were able to create more and more exciting rides from a spectator standpoint. The Pacific Coast Surfing Championships became an annual event and was dominated 4 of the next years by Preston "Pete Peterson of Santa Monica. Other Early surfing champs included Keller Watson, Gardner Lippincott, and in 1939 Whitey Lorrin Harrison, and in 1940 Cliff Tucker.
Tucker the 1940 champion said flat that his friend "Peterson was the greatest waterman on the West Coast in those days. As far as I'm concerned he was the best and maybe Whitey Harrison was second best. Tucker recalled that in the early 30's surfing days 'that a man could still be arrested in Santa Monica for not wearing a top",and competition surfing was heavy duty and tough.
"If you were in a contest situation and a guy took off in front of you, he recalled, it was your obligation to show no mercy or decency.You either went right through him or otherwise mowed him down. I guess the only thing that's changed over the years is that nowadays some folks surf that way even without the contest.
As we mentioned earlier one of surfing's early ritual was the Surf Safari. This was not only a Calif. thing because by the early thirties some of the 1st Calif surfers began to make the voyage to Hawaii to take on the Fabled big waves. If you'd look at him today you'd say naah, but our guest Whitey Harrison was one of California's Bad Boys of Surfing. In 1932 at the height of the depression Whitey tried to stow away on a ship bound for Hawaii but got caught and was transported back to San Francisco. He spent the night in the slammer--- and stowed away the next morning. After 2 and a half days hidden in a life boat he gave himself up, but at least this time he made it to the Islands. Meanwhile Pete Peterson had paid his way across but eventually he ran out of money and ended up moving in with Whitey at Waikiki. Later Whitey and Pete stowed away back to the mainland on the USS Republic masquerading as members of a contingent of 1,000 soldiers being shipped back to the states. Thanks to these pioneers stowing away became a surfing tradition right up to the 60's, and Whitey himself made four out of five successful trips in this way.
All during the 30's and 40's there was a constant quest to refine and lighten the old style boards. While in Hawaii Pete Peterson found a solid blond colored wood board on the beach. The size and shape of this mysterious board were about the same as his board but it weighed only 30 to 40 lbs. Apparently it had been made in Florida with wood from So. America called balsa wood. Soon everyone was scrambling to get this new balsa wood and it became harder and harder to get.
In the late 30's Pacific Ready Cut Homes, in California was the first company to mass produce commercial surfboards, and in 1937 hired Whitey Harrison to shape boards for them. These boards were constructed of balsa and redwood laminated together with the newly available waterproof glue. They were 10' long 23" wide and 22" at the tailblock. For his effort Whitey shaped four boards a day and knocked down $100.00 a month. These new boards were known as the swastika model because of the Co. logo. Years later Whitey found out that a guy named Dutch was a Nazi and when the war broke out they dropped the swastika.
Also during the 30's and 40's surfing clubs were recruiting more and more members. The Palos Verdes Surf Club was one of the largest and most prestigious clubs. A little further south the Long Beach Club had formed and too the San Onofre Club had 100's of members.
Wars have always sped up the pace of technology. The period leading up to WWI was one in which chemists searched for waterproof glues and that lead to surfers having a means of holding all the pieces of the board together instead of having to use bolts running from rail to rail. Fiberglass, resin, and styrofoam came out of research during WWII. Preston "Pete" Peterson was the first to build a fiberglass surfboard in June of 1946, with the help of Brant Goldsworthy who owned a plastics company in LA which supplied component parts to the aircraft industry.
The modern surfboard is generally associated with one man, Bob Simmions, but this is not altogether correct. Bud Morrisey, Guard Chapin, Matt Kivlin, and Joe Quigg were just as influential as Simmons and indivdually all these surfers helped to develop the modern surfboard. And during the 40's as expirmentation and design continued to dog technology, surfing hit a duldrum. World War Two was upon us and both Califs' and Hawaiis' beaches were held hostage by barbed wire and anti aircraft installations. Those surfers who stayed behind to carry the tourch of surfing through these years were not only eccentric but totally committed to creating the best surfboards ever ridden. But that too was a problem there weren't many people left to test these new designs since everyone with a pluse was at war.
In his single mindedness to master the new science of fiberglass and resin technology his persistent inquiries in setting fluids and resins led Joe Quigg to become suspected of being a German Spy. Los Angeles was the tech center for the wars efforts and too the center of surfings modern board revoultion and these few Kahuana Shapers who were expirementing with every shape, size and material avaliable to craft a board with were paving the way to THE FABOULUS FIFTIES.
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