i want to learn about longboarding without the shortboard influence. im talking 1966 or 67. i dont even know where to begin. do i get a video? read a book? post this on swaylocks?
help me educate myself.
-Bobby
poser516,
a good place to start is a book called The History of Surfing by Nat Young.it takes you from about 400 AD to about 1982.Plenty of info and a lot of fun to read.
Try www.surfresearch.com www.legendarysurfers.com
That’ll get you started.
thanks for the replies. i should have elaborated more on the particular era i want to know about.
pure longboard surfing. im talking about longboarding without the shortboard influence, at it’s most progressive phase. i want to know about the phase before people went shorter then 9’0 and put an edge in the tail, but after the footage i have seen of david nuhhueva (?) riding a 10 foot rockerless plank that absolutley didn’t turn.
im picturing nat young on his 9’4 winning that contest. he was pure flowin. cutting back so smoothly and generating some speed with the flow of his legs.
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/
Though… I was around for that era… and frankly, it was kind of like a supersaturated solution, waiting for something to crystallise around. Lots of silly poses, lots of nose nonsense, 'cos that’s all you could do with those damned heavy things that wouldn’t turn for love nor money.
Then came Greenough and Young and McTavish, and the paradigm changed.
In truth, I went and wrote it all before - see (horribly long URL ) http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.surfing/browse_thread/thread/f82e3a6194212615/81d0a7cbf38fdee2?q=golden+group:alt.surfing+author:doc&rnum=4&hl=en#81d0a7cbf38fdee2
look through it - it’s been a constant question.
best
doc…
videos I like from the “transition period”…
"the innermost limits of pure fun "
“sea of joy”
“evolution”
…I’m sure there are other good ones .
These are worth watching in SLOW motion [particularly the water footage in “innermost…” for how they surfed the boards , and how the boards worked [or didn’t].
I particularly like the segment where ted spencer shapes himself a spoon - like disc [with a hand planer !] to stand up on , and rides it at decent sized Angourie … he makes the thing work , too…somehow ?!
ben
Everything and anything works, for someone…sometime.
Look at Gemini’s, FattyPenquins, '70’s fish with flared tails, those zigzag in and out rails, reverse curve templates… and some say paipo board, with WPoint at TAIL, is the fastest surf vehicle in fast waves!
In the movie “Riding Giants” Greg Noll rides a 11’6" board in huge surf. Lot’s of history in the beginning of the movie with great stories from Greg.
Go get every Bruce Brown movie, (Skip the dirtbike one)
Watch cronologically.
Drew
Poser,
First: I like Drew’s advice. But start with “Endless Summer” (#1 of course), then watch “LIQUID STAGE the lure of surfing”, followed by all of the Bruce Brown movies, then somewhere in there you must watch “Surfing for Life”. Sorry, but you have to watch each and every one of those before you can get to where you say you want to be. Liquid Stage and Surfing for Life are very important so go to the corners of the earth if you have to, but do not skip those.
Second: Find a mentor, a guy that was there in the 60s, gut it up and listen to stories and feel his vibe from the time (it will sink into your soul).
Third: when yu’re in the water live Aloha…share waves and smile, but show-off and give the others something to strive for.
I like where you’re going…See you on the other side…enjoy the ride.
Richard
PS: You don’t need to live there or stay there. I spoze shortboarding is cool and though I’ve never gone short, I’ll bet short is even sweeter once you’ve gone long and taken a look back. But I’m just one of those old guys…what do I know?
poser- for that specific time period get the video
“children of the sun” from new zealand during that time.cornball narration but the boards and surfing are right there-most are like the sam board nat won on in '66.
Longboard Grotto has a lot of the things mentioned. Videos ,books ect, Be sure to look up at the ceiling ,that’s where they hide the collector boards…
it looks like i have some videos to watch.
i ordered children of the sun last night, and i’ll go from there.
i appreciate all the help.
Bear in mind that by the time vids come out, they’re over a year old.
Also, it’s the discretion of the editor to choose any format they want, and to ignore the truth in order to persue the exciting ideas.
As with any newspaper or article, watch with a certain amount of scepticism. It’s not history you’re watching, it’s ONE person’s view of what they think would be entertaining to the masses.
Good one LeeDD. So true. History can be local, regional, national or international and varied.
Certainly there are some basic history stuff out there, but the best surfing history is that you make yourself.