Labour Day long weekend, in ’72 on the Saturday arvo, my best mate and I had just surfed small clean Winkipop. On the way home we decided to swing by the Torquay Pub for a couple of beers to celebrate what was a fun uncrowded surf. Unfortunately the day’s enjoyment came to a screeching halt when we left the pub and discovered our boards had been stolen.
My buddy wasn’t overly concerned as he had surfboard insurance and needed a new board anyway. I wasn’t so lucky, F#%K!.
I was surfing a lot with Don Allcroft back then who at the time was shaping for Rip Curl, after doing his shaping apprenticeship with master craftsman Fred Pyke. I’d been riding Pyke surfboards since my first new, custom board in November ‘65. Not being too cashed up I went to see if Donny could do me a good deal on a new board.
Approaching Easter was always a difficult time to organise a new board. Don told me there was no hope of shaping a board for around three or four weeks due to the Easter rush. He’d just shaped three new boards for himself…a short board, semi gun and gun. After a fair bit of verbal jousting he figured he could pass his gun onto me, as he had another at home if the waves got solid. With the autumn, winter swells on the way I could get away with the gun and worry about a shorter replacement board later.
We had a great run of waves in the 5ft plus range for the next couple of months and I surfed Winkipop exclusively on this board. The boards specs were 7’3” x 18.25” x 3.25”. flat to vee/concave bottom pintail. Surfing back then was all about full carving rail turns with down the line acceleration. This board was perfect for Winki’s long walls.
At the time, Donny was into glassing surfing magazine cut outs onto his boards as well as pencilling geometric, line designs on many of his boards. The board ended up with lots of dings…this was pre leg ropes. We eventually resined in a piece of clothes line twine to attach a crude, dog collar/rope leg rope before the commercial production of leggies. I never traded this board in…I had some memorable surfs on it and kept dragging it out on those special Winki days.
Around 1977 twin fins became the latest and greatest thing and the old faithfull pintail was retired. It ended up under houses, in back sheds before I left it out at Speaky’s barn when Dennis “Strapper” Day was shaping there. It eventually ended up in the rafters at Strappers factory, bruised, battered and forgotten about.
In the mid 90s, Don Allcroft’s son Jason was working at Strappers and discovered the board his dad had shaped years before amongst a pile of dusty, old relics. It was a time when Torquay Boardriders were organising their first single fin comp. Not knowing of the boards history Jason started repairing it to ride the board in the Boardrioders event. For what ever reason, Jason didn’t complete the repairs, didn’t get to ride the board. Strappers, Mike DiSciascio eventually completed the repairs and the board now resides at my place.
I’m often tempted to surf the board again, for old time sake, but it’s sentimental value is too great to risk damaging in a crowded Winki Pop lineup. This Board’s a great reminder of some very special surfing moments, interesting people and Torquay as it used to be thirty five years or so ago. Great memories… but remember…surfing was/is never better than …NOW! Bob Smith.
As surfing becomes firmly entrenched in boardrooms. Pro surfers worshipped like rock stars, and little separating the major surf brand's.
Opportunities present themselves for small indy labels to embrace creativity as expressions of their lifestyles.
I recently discovered one of these indy labels alive and well on the Surf Coast, quietly making in roads into the surf market both here in Australia and the U.S.
RAKE is the brain child of former industry insider, local designer/artist/surfer Adrian "Ado" Knott, who describes RAKE as more personal than the corporate surf companies.
Putting back the soul into surfing. A modern twist to old surf flavor.
It is all about appreciating and enjoying the ocean, art, surfboard shaping & working in collaboration with friends on new projects & offering cool products that reflect this feeling, pieces of wearable art instead of an exercise in branding.
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