That sort of surfing wouldn’t be out of place in todays pro contests if you ask me…
Ok Deanbro I will ask you
In what way does Cheyne’s surfing in that clip meet the current ASP judging criteria ?
Waiting …
Mooneemick
Solo
Those first generation zaps were exciting boards probably the ultimate performance single fins to that point , certainly were for me anyway.
I was riding McCoys 1978 - 82 and was spending a lot of time hanging at the factory , my best mate at the time was polishing the boards , glory days !
My experience was that the zaps went too extreme and I had Eric Taylor who was shaping there do most of my boards , 6’2" triple flyer swallow singles closer to the first generation zaps.
Cheers
Mooneemick
Agree. I don’t think a better single fin has ever been shaped that was any better than the first generation zaps. Cheyne’s bells board was nice also. They did go too extreme for you average surfer. As for current ASP standards. Who cares? I find it boring and repetitive.
He was ripping for sure. It would be interesting to somehow go back in time, show him some vids of Kelly Slater and put him on a modern thruster. That would possibly shed light on the long held contention that Cheyne was held back by his winged keel.
On a side note I can’t understand how anybody could consider the stuff they’re doing these days as boring. Watching Dane, Jordy et al pulling those freakish airs is pretty exciting in my book; or maybe I’m just easily amused.
I’m with spuddups on the boring call.
Never been a competitive era that comes close to the current crop.
Speed , flow , power , tube riding and X factor moves on tap.
It’s all relative to the era , equipment and imagination .
I can remember when a local crew of us including a 15 yr old RCJ were gluing velcro to boards and boots to just leave the surface of a wave .
Made for spectacular axings but how else could you get air !! Now look what these freaks can do almost at will.
In his day Cheyne was one of the freaks.
Cheers
Mooneemick
I recognize the talent. There is no doubt they rip and that their equipment works. It just does not inspire me. I’m not all into the retro thing always either. I still ride modern equipment, but I would watch Joel Tudor at his peak on his eggs over many of the pros or someone like Curren soaring through turns on a Fryed fish. I don’t care for airs much. I like carving, tube riding and style. As I said, I find modern surfing all the same. Watch one and you watch them all style wise. You know the moves they are likely going to make before they make them.
As for Cheyne on thrusters vs what he was riding. In some of the interviews he said he stuck with it to keep creativity in the sport. Believe me when I tell you that Cheyne is still remembered in a big way by a few generations of surfers and the boards he was riding still spark quite a bit of interest. I don’t think the other surfers from his era are remembered quite the same or draw near the interest today as do some of Cheyne’s experiments. I find is pathetic that a surfers career must be judged by whether he won meaningless and likely rigged world title or not.
Anything that is subjective is susceptible to human ego, error or dishonesty and etc. There is no way to make it perfect and I can tell you from running contest for seven years judges are biased and influenced by outside sources. Such as clothing and stuff they are given by the companies sponsoring the tour. When you rip and are sponsored right, you chances go up quite a bit. I have personally seen judges cheat at big ESA contest. I have seen them make statements like, " dock him half a point he is riding a platter and etc. "
I still think Cheyne actually did win the title in 79. Most say he caught the winning wave with seconds to spare but it wasn’t counted. Look at his contest results on his site. look at 1982 and tell me how he still lost. The pro tour is rigged. No one will argue about Slater being the best, but I’m wondering if he would have reached his dominance had he been sponsored by someone like North Shore Underground or Birdwells all these years?
Good post. It’s undeniable that Cheyne was very unlucky not to win the title. I take your point about him being remembered all these years later for his creativity. The fact that they’re still making boards very similar to what he was riding confirms this.
I agree about a lot of the surfer’s these days having similar styles. I really used to enjoy watching MR with his unique and graceful style. It doesn’t seem that there’s a place for that these days. Maybe it’s because the equipment is so similar. Mind you Slater riding that 5’10" at Backdoor a couple of years back was pretty amazing. In terms of style the only guy that I really like is Parko. Such a smooth fluid style.
I guess weather you like airs or not is a matter of personal taste.
No doubt. Agree. Funny thing is much of what someone like Slater is doing that seems new to surfers isn’t new at all. They were riding 5’9’’ at Back Doors in 81 and Cheyne rode an 18’’ wide tail at the Bay. Cheyne actually invented or at least perfected many of the moves seen as a standard on today’s tour. Things like floaters and under the lip snaps. Dane Kealoha was riding little 5’10’’ twin fins at twelve foot Sunset and destroying the place. Much of the stuff folks are oooing and aaahing over today is old news from single fins to really short surfboards.
Slater is great in his own right as are others. I think Slater is the only surfer I ever saw do what I would call a functional Air when he first hit the tour. I thought Slater in Black and White was pivotal for surfing. The Guy was hopping over sections and kept going as if he just floated over the white water. Great stuff. When I think of all time great performances from the world tour that went unrewarded, I also think of Gary Elkerton. Especially his performance in Hawaii in 92 at big Sunset. I simply do not believe he lost the world title that year. He was the best surfer in the water and on the tour that year in waves that really counted.
Yeah, Elko was pretty unlucky. He was pretty much my hero when I started surfing. That Kong’s Island vid’s still a classic.
In terms of floaters I reckon Martin Potter was the surfer that really made them look functional. It’s funny, when I remember back to that time I was completely obsessed with floaters. A lot of people were in the late eighties!
I remember seeing Sanga doing floaters at the Aussie titles years ago...
I own two of his latest Zaps 6'0 and 6'4 in thrusters and I can't tell you how much I love the way they surf. It took a while to get used to the smaller one in particular because of the immense lift you get into a wave from all the tail thickness, so you feel a lot more vertical on take-off than a normal board.
But they paddle so well and still turn great and drop in well because of the narrow nose.
Check out that footage the 8 second mark and see how much can be done with a narrow stance in the middle of the board. It is quite amazing how much speed you can make by pumping the board down the line from this position as well as being able to turn from here.
My rear foot rarely gets past halfway back on the tailpad on the smaller one and I can't recall ever actually having my foot up against the stopper on the bigger one.
Absolutely the most veratile boards I've owned.
As you can see from the quiver shot though I'm a bit of a MCoy fan so maybe less impartial than some. :-)
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Solo - I am a long time Mccoy fan and rider - just love your work dude. Insane footage - love you keeping the flame alive - super stocked by your posts and your boards.
Kookster - insane quiver...
OG
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed them. Been going through a bit of a life change the last year or so…but still feel the need to communicate sometimes. Yes…kookster’s quiver is mouth watering.
Mark sainsbury “Sanga” Invented and perfected the “floater” Full stop.
Potter and the rest just ripped it off !!!
R.I.P. Sanga.
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Those first generation zaps were exciting boards probably the ultimate performance single fins to that point , certainly were for me anyway.
Cheers
Mooneemick
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Heres my 2 little ladies...
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5' 10" Double Flyer Swallow and a 6' 6" Double Flyer Pin.
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Im slowly doing minor restos so they look immaculate, just like the day I rode these shapes back around 1982.
And Ive got about 9 fins from 1983 as well...
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I rode these boards because they were McCoys which at the time were absolutely Red Hot in Ron Fords Bondi Surf Shop but also because they were modelled on what Cheyne himself rode. Team boards from McCoy riders were resold thru Fords shop and they looked just like the retail boards.. I dont think there was any great diff because at the time it was all new design so everyone got something similar from the factory. Actually I remember the retail boards had an extra gloss coat but that was about the only diff.
Glory Days Indeed.
The Bondi Hotel with the drug deals on the roof terrace ( and the occaissional "assisted" suicide leap )... SKY twinnies, G & S singles..., Captain Goodvibes..., Cold Chisel...,...Sherbet and Darryl. I'm sure I ran over Darryl Braithwaite at Bondi on a boogie in 83' That'll learn ya to drop in.
Sydneys Eastern Suburbs were the place to be in Australia in the 80's.
Great Days Indeed.