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John Durant & Rusty Preisendorfer Recall the Fate Origin History of Canyon Surfboards

Full Rainbow Canyon Surfboards model #636

Prelude: Writer, photographer and copyright holder John Durant forwarded me this historical recollection with Rusty Preisendorfer describing perils and partners from his rise to worldwide surfing significance. Meet the founders, icons, and the real life surfing underground. Take a step back into the dense underground surf culture of San Diego (particularly La Jolla and Sunset Cliffs) from the worldwide hotbed of surfing innovation in the canyons of La Jolla, CA during the 1970’s. Take a journey back to discover the hotbed of surfing innovation going down at the Bridgeman house on Starlight Drive and the founding of brands that would be iconic across the world for surfing. Dustin

Rusty returned to California from Australia in spring of 1974. A few weeks later on a small early-summer go-out at La Jolla Shores, Rusty’s steady progression as a shaper was interrupted by an unpredictable twist. What should have been a laughably small encounter turned into a genuine catastrophe.

June, La Jolla Shores:

Mid-morning paddle out into gin-clear water. Small west swell, waves breaking in shallow water. Rusty – about to paddle out, hair still dry – when an older guy came trimming by – trying for a cheater five on the inside. Rusty had to back up a little bit and the surfer on the wave squeaked by him, but he buried the nose and let his board shoot back, hitting Rusty in the thigh. 

The fin struck Rusty on the outside of his right thigh about halfway between the knee and his hip, ripping a four-inch gash right down to the bone. Profuse bleeding. Steve McCollum was there that morning and he ran Rusty up to Scripps Hospital at the top of the hill near the university using beach towels to staunch the bleeding. The wound required 30 or 40 internal stitches, and an additional 40 external stitches the length of the cut. Rusty had left his car in the lot at the shores and, after being stitched up, he went back, picked up his Rambler and went home to recover.

Rusty: I had this little Rambler – like a sedan, a little four-seater. I’d taken out the back seat so I could shove my boards through the trunk. I had that for about six months. I left the car in the lot and picked it up after they stitched me up. Back in those days it was pretty hard to keep me down, so I ran down and grabbed my car and went home.

A few days after Rusty went home to recover, the wound began to pulse with infection. He was living above The Shores at the Bridgeman house on Starlight Drive – at the time a hot-bed of surf experimentation. A next door neighbor to the north was a doctor. After four or five days Rusty started to develop a high fever and when the doctor came over to take his temperature he said, “You’re going to the hospital.” Rusty was running a temperature of 105 and was exhausted and delirious. They checked him into a hospital room for observation and after managing to lower his temperature, an orderly came in and said, “This looks like a pretty bad… ”  a terse comment about the hole in his thigh. As the orderly was checking out the damaged tissue, he said, “You need to have this opened up.” A surgeon was called in and after cutting the stitches, the swollen wound  just opened up like a filet. The gash had to heal from the inside out which took six weeks. Once home, Rusty had to bathe the infection site several times a day and soak the wound area – that’s one of the issues with a really deep infection. Eventually he got stitched back up but before they sent him home from the hospital, the medical staff gave him a spinal tap [for this procedure, the doctor or nurse inserts a hollow needle into the space surrounding the spinal column (subarachnoid space) in the lower back to withdraw cerebrospinal fluid for analysis].  

The board that hit Rusty belonged to San Diego restaurateur Peter Pitts. At the time he owned a popular spot in Mission Beach called Krishna Mulvaney’s. A couple of weeks after being discharged from the hospital Rusty approached him to see if he’d care to help with the medical bills.

Rusty: This was way before I had any medical insurance or even any money at all – and this was when two or three thousand dollars really meant something [three thousand 1974 dollars is worth $19,919.00 fifty years later in 2024]. I was super-glad to have recovered but… the hospital bill was beyond expensive. But when I asked Pitts to chip in he just told me to (explicit) off. 

Rusty: The accident and hospitalization happened in summer of 1974. After I healed up, I continued shaping at G&S. In the meantime I still had this horrendous hospital bill to settle. I had appealed to Peter Pitts – the guy who hit me – to help me with my medical bills. Back then, it was only maybe two or three grand for the four days in the hospital and all the procedures. And he said, “(explicit) you.” He was really obnoxious. I knew an attorney in La Jolla – Jim Weaver –  who was a couple years older than me, so  I had him try to handle it. He was a La Jolla guy, and I had him write Peter Pitts a letter, and true to form, Peter just said, “(explicit) you.”

Rusty: I’d only been having Bill Caster glass my boards for a few months and one day I came in to drop off some blanks and Bill sat me down and said, “You know, gosh, Rusty, I love doing work for you but we’re getting kind of busy and you’re going to have to find another glasser.” I think he’s the one that suggested John Durwood at Canyon. I could tell he was unhappy to deliver the news but what he didn’t tell me was the real reason – but he said he couldn’t glass my boards anymore and he suggested Canyon. It turned out the board that hit me that morning at La Jolla Shores belonged to Bill Caster’s silent partner Peter Pitts. Caster and Pitts co-owned Caster’s new factory off Miramar Road in San Diego. He was the primary investor in the factory and co-owner of the building. He surfed and he told Bill, “Get that mother(explicit) out of here,” because I’d approached Pitts to defray my medical bills. When I approached Pitts, I didn’t have any money and I’d just spent four days in the hospital. That was a lot of money back then. I said “If you could help me at all, I’d really appreciate it.” And he goes, “Ah, (explicit) you.” You know? Yeah. I mean, he was totally to blame. I tried to get out of his way and then he pearled and his board put (explicit) a giant hole in my thigh. I don’t even think he said he was sorry – but when I found out who he was and I asked him if he could help me out – I didn’t demand, I didn’t want 10,000 bucks – I just wanted a little bit of help with the medical bills. He said, “(explicit) off.” And the next thing I know Bill Caster’s telling me he can’t glass my boards anymore. I’m not sure if I put two and two together right then, but about a day or two later, somebody goes, “Oh yeah, the guy that hit you is Bill Caster’s investor.” [laughter] So that was the end of my deal with Caster. He was very sorry. So that’s when I approached Durward at Canyon.

Ernie Higgins (Caster Laminator): Peter Pitts was Bill Caster’s silent partner. Very silent in fact. Peter and Bill had just set up the new Caster factory in the Commerce Street building after moving up the hill from Sorrento Valley. Bill was never very open about the relationship. Bill and I would have breakfast every morning for – I don’t know, like five years – and he would never, or hardly ever mention Peter Pitts. He was truly a silent partner. The whole time I worked for Bill, I don’t think I saw Peter more than three times. Peter and Bill would talk on the phone – having to do with money because Peter owned half the building.

Rusty: I was healed up by the end of summer so I enrolled back at UC San Diego and really focussed on my education. I needed to make some kind of steady money, so I got a valet job parking cars at the La Valencia Hotel where I worked for a couple of years, eventually moving up to bellman. We wore these burgundy uniforms made of some kind of synthetic nylon or something. In the summer of 1975 I started reaching out, trying to find shaping work all over San Diego County – Sunset Surfboards for Ed Wright, Encinitas Surfboards for John Kies, Hank Byzak, anywhere I could get some shaping gigs. I’m pretty sure that’s the sequence of events. It is a shame, because later on, Bill Caster developed prostate cancer or something terrible. He was such a nice person. Why do all the nice people fucking get cancer? That’s how I ended up at Canyon. Durward had just started his production shop over on Santa Fe Street in PB and he was glassing boards for some of the G&S guys – Robin, Holly and Frye – so that’s how that started. And I had to pay all the medical bills out of my own pocket.

CANYON (John Durward)

Near the I-5 freeway in east Pacific Beach, nestled in a set of unremarkable concrete buildings somewhere between a British car garage and the old Consolidated Convair aircraft factory was Canyon Surfboards, John Durward’s glassing outfit. 

Canyon Surfboards, named for Rose Canyon – the short north-south depression between the Mount Soledad and University City neighborhoods – was one of San Diego’s contract glassing outfits where independent surfboard makers and local garage shapers could have their shaped blanks finished. Sometime in 1973 Durward graduated from local Sunset Cliffs garage surfboard guy to full-time production outfit with a small facility occupying one bay in a row of six or seven identical single-story concrete tilt-ups in the perennial light-industry section of east PB. Over the years this commercial section of San Diego had seen everything from aircraft builders to sail lofts, bike shops to pet hotels. It’s remained almost unchanged for the last fifty years.

Connecticut native Durward arrived late in the California surfing boom, well after boards went short but early enough to find his footing as a shaper/glasser in his Ebers Street garage at a time of intense experimentation. Things were changing fast, boards were short and everyone from established surf companies like Gordon & Smith and Hobie to back-yard builders were trying on new ideas from twin fins to channel bottoms to downrail guns to eggs. It was during this let’s try anything period of experimentation that Durward opened Canyon and began glassing for fellow Point Loman John Holly, local standouts Skip Frye and Tony Staples, and anyone else that had $225 and needed a board glassed.

Durward was put together like a college linebacker with a quiet brooding disposition. HIs signature look was a skeptical scowl delivered from a chin-tucked defensive position. A shock of longish hair would often fall over his left eye causing John to lower his gaze from below. There were no deals at Canyon. Everybody paid the same price – pros, superstars, local heroes – they were all the same. No deals! was his tagline for anyone from shop rats to Hawaiians in town for the summer. Durward learned his chops glassing for Sunset Cliffs locals and polished his technique at Gordon & Smith where he picked up the myriad tips and tricks the pros all use but the garage soul guys didn’t have time to assimilate like – soaking your squeegee in acetone overnight or how to pin-line freehand like a hot-rod artist. By the time Durward opened Canyon he could do it all, from shaping to laminating – but he considered himself a virtuoso gloss and polish technician often reminding the shapers he came in contact with that it was the glass job that made the board – not the shape. In other words – he was hard-headed as hell.

Durward could shape… but when compared to the pool of talent in San Diego in the early 1970s – surfer/shapers like Skip Frye, Mike Diffenderfer, Donald Takayama or Billy Caster – John’s shaping was basic and unrefined, characterized by thick, squared off rails. Nobody came to Canyon for Durward’s shaping. They came because it was in town, closer to home than Caster’s factory off Miramar Road or Tony Channin’s set-up in Encinitas. They came because glassing in your garage could go wrong in so many ways. This was a basic supply and demand equation with Durward meeting the modest demands from La Jolla to Point Loma. Due to an extraordinary chain of events, this was all about to change in the summer of 1974.

Returning from an extended trip to Australia, Rusty had a set of sketches – rough drafts – for his next label, Music! 

Rusty: While I was in Australia I started to dream about getting back into business for myself, making my own boards start to finish. I came up with a Music! With an added an exclamation mark just to jazz it up a little bit, maybe create some visual tension. After I got back, things had started to pick up at G&S. I started shaping there again but I’d asked Larry Gordon if he – well we had this conversation – I told him I had this idea for a label and I asked if he’d glass the first batch for me and he said – well, sure we’ll do some for you. But after about twenty boards Larry said, you know you’ve got to make up your mind whether you want to work for me or you want to work for yourself. So I thanked him for the three years of experience and said adios. 

Rusty: At that time Bill Caster was becoming a kind of underground legend. He was a local San Diego shaper at a time when localism was particularly… potent. There was a quiet battle going on between the Skip Frye school of thought (You’ll fly an a Frye) and the Caster contingency (Caster goes faster). Not an all-out war but definitely defined territories. The Caster guys tended to stick to the La Jolla Reefs. You’d see the guys that rode Skip’s boards at La Jolla Shores or the beach breaks of PB with a little overlap at PB Point. I don’t think Caster had a global impact but in terms of San Diego shapers I thought his work was beautiful and I aspired to that level of quality – and his glass work was very clean. That was Ernie HIggins doing the laminating back then. So I approached Caster, because I heard he had just opened a new glass shop off Miramar Road in San Diego – that’s where Diamond Glassing ended up – I thought he might have room for a few more boards. Bill said, sure, I’ll glass them for you. 

Rusty: Gordon & Smith production glasser Bob Boche ended up taking over the building after Caster passed away. Caster had suggested John Durward at Canyon Glass. Durward was finishing boards for about six different shapers when I came in – some of Mickey Freemont’s boards, Tony Staples, Seagull… Over time he said, “I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you all of my shaping if you give me all of your glassing.” And I’m like, “Okay, sounds good,” because he probably only shaped ten boards a year and they were pretty rough. That’s how I became involved with John. I graduated in the summer of ’78 from UC San Diego – I went back in the fall of ’74, put my head down and graduated in three years. Prior to ’78, I was picking up summertime jobs all over… Especially in North County, shaping for Sunset, John Kies, anywhere I could get some experience. I became more involved with John, exclusively involved with him, I think, by ’78. The first thing I wanted to change was the logo, because the logo was absolutely (explicitly) boring. We had an airbrusher, it was the ’78 or, ’79, when color was really starting to come on. Durward was old school. He liked to use, what was it? E-fiberglass cloth? He liked to use that cloth, an older cloth and an older type of resin that made the boards kind of yellow. So, they weren’t pure white. So I convinced him to get off that. If he had his way – if he was still alive, he’d probably still be doing gloss and polish resin tints. There was a time when, you know, like around 1980 or 1981, he did decent tints on boards, but airbrushing was important and people were asking for airbrush work. We got an airbrusher for a little while but he quit. John just said, ” (explicit} that.” I said, “John, we’ve got to have airbrusher.” So I learned how to airbrush. And so for about a year, no, a couple of years, I airbrushed. I’d shape all day in a rented storage garage down the street on West Mission Bay Drive behind Burger King – then I’d come in to Canyon after hours and airbrush. Pull all-nighters.

Epilogue: Before John Durward’s death from cancer, he passed on Canyon surfboard temples. Recently in Point Loma I got to spend time with these patterns for iconic surfboards. In their lot was the PP Special, another mid century modern masterpiece of a surfboard, that I hope rewarded Rusty for his tenacity to develop surfboards of worldwide significance. Dustin

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Paw Print Surfboard Art Mystery Solved

Paw Print Canyon Surfboard

What is the repeated pattern of cat paw prints across Canyon and related surfboards trying to tell us? What is the meaning?

The other day my fine friend Brandon, a purveyor of vintage San Diego surfboards asked—”What’s the deal with the paw prints scampering across the decks of these old surfboards shaped by Rusty Preisendorfer and Michael Richardson?”

Both of these shapers worked for Canyon Surfboards.

The Abbott Street Canyon Surfboards retail shop was close to dog beach—coincidence?

Paw Print Surfboard #1 – Mid 1980’s Rusty Canyon Thruster

Case in point, this Rusty Canyon Surfboard, expectedly from near the end of the Rusty & John Durwood Canyon collaboration, does indeed feature the paws of a wandering animal.

What is this animal doing tracking across the deck of classic San Diego surfboards?

Michael Richardson Paw Print Surfboard

Paw Print Surfboard #2 – Michael Richardson Thruster

Here is another documented case of paw prints wandering around the deck of a San Diego surfboard.

The curiosity is pawsitively amazing.

The Canyon Surfboards Experts Weigh In on the Mystery

There was a reason for sign on the old Canyon factory of Sante Fe street that read, “Best, In the West”. In it’s heyday, Canyon Surfboards were ridden by top competitive riders around the world.

People reach out to me all the time about Canyon Surfboards, and when I get stuck I turn to past Canyon employees like Karl and Scat.

Scat Daddy, who came with the building when Canyon moved into the old Seagull Surfboards shop in OB, was the creator of these paw prints.

Here’s what Scat said:

I had done a Canyon board for the East Coast, maybe Rockaway beach. The bottom had a blue dinner plate, fork, knife and spoon. On the plate was a fish skeleton dragged half way off with cat paws going to the plate, pausing, and walking off. Yep, really.

Scat Daddy

For those who don’t know, the fish surfboard design was created in 1967 by San Diego shaper Steve Lis.

Do you also covet fish surfboards?

There is an exciting announcement about new Canyon Surfboards coming soon so check back!

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2023 Sea Collective Open

Beacons Summer California Surf Contest & House Party

Easily seen were the deep community roots of surfing kept well alive at the 2023 Sea Collective Open on Saturday July, 29th at Beacons Beach.

Who is the Sea Collective and What is Their Mission?

California Non Profit Sails Toward Sustainable Fisheries

Sea Collective is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ocean conservation and research. Integrating together sustainable small-scale fishing, community action, and oceanic research—Sea Collective is on the vanguard intersection of social justice and environmental resilience.

100% of your gift donations to Sea Collective goes to their organization.

2023 Sea Collective Open Surf Contest

A Model for Community Surf Competitions

What Minerva was for Odysseus getting home from the Trojan war, so is Taylor revitalizing surfing communities and leading a path to deeper oceanographic understandings.

The Sea Collective Wave-maker in Chief Taylor Bratton led our core team event setup to a plateau of rocks overlooking the South end of Beacon at Leucadia State Beach. It was our Heiau Surf Temple, and our prayer for waves on this day appeared to have been well answered.

Anxiously over the last 10 days I had been watching the swell conditions across the entire Pacific Ocean—a winter storm between Australia and New Zealand had developed and sent us a swell across the ocean that magically light up the waves with 3-5 foot conditions.

Beacons Summer Surfing Conditions

Beacons beach is located at 948 Neptune Ave, Leucadia. Its a reef/beach break with two main peaks. The contest shared the southern side peak with the native surfers–successfully.

Typically (author Dustin here), I just wait and surf the Canyon sets at Blacks on original Canyon Surfboards.

Yet Karl Eberhard, an original Canyon Glass Shop employee, invited me to help judge the very first Sea Collective Open.

Karl came of age in Clairemont in the 60’s & 70’s back yard building surfboards and professional contest surfing.

To synchronize my surfing appreciations for Beacons, I had a great day family surfing the beach & reef of Beacons prior to the contest. Even in small 1-2 foot conditions I drew from more than 80% of the maneuvers highlighted in the judging criteria. Even managed a fins up forward late off on the otherwise unoccupied a-frame peak (I was riding the recreation of Canyon Surfboards #1076 a Rusty shaped bat tail with a background that is another story).

The unique position of Beacons in the summertime allows the same storms that drive Monsoons in India, duck under Australia too to drive a hearty winter swell up into our warm summer waters. Perhaps this similar wave vibration drew Yogananda to open the nearby Swamis temples to the south.

I absolutely love wild kelp and appreciate its potential to bring abalone back from the brink of species erasure to again thrive across the Pacific rim. While the 2023 summer kelp forest volume was basically still collapsed too, it was nice to see a few stalks of these stout ocean timbers at Beacons.

Singlefin Slides – The Longboard Contest Division

A longboard surf contest open to surfers who prefer mid lengths, so that any single fin is allowed. Iconic longboard maneuvers including nose rides, cross stepping, cheater fives, fades, floaters, and switch stances are celebrated. However, this surfing venue honors a healthy blend of standard plus creative, unconventional, and collaborative surfing maneuvers.

The “Shortboard” Contest Division

This division allows surfing competitors to show off their high performance style riding short boards, fish, grovelers, bonzers or anything under 7’0. Technical maneuvers get high scores. Competitors are also rewarded for creative surfing. Wave choices and maneuvers matter— as well as the creativity, variety, power and flow of maneuvers as well. Competitors who take risks and pull off creative stunts, lineup collaborations, custom inclusions and party waves will have more favorable scores. 

Anything Goes Beach Contest

Competitors are encouraged to bring their own object to catch waves on as well as fins. We will have a few options on the beach, but there may not be enough for everyone. For example, contestants may use inflatable unicorns, hotdogs, a float made entirely of rubber ducks, inflatable pools, supsquaches, air mattresses, hamster wheels, etc. If you can get an ironing board to float, that counts too. We will not accept boogie boards or body surfing! The only rule is that if your object pollutes the ocean, you will be disqualified. We are trying to reduce plastic waste, so keep your float intact. Popped floaties will result in the competitor having to return to shore, but keeping the waves they previously caught in their score. 

There will be one 20 minute heat with winners for first, second and third place. Judges will score for creativity of object, sickest drop and length of ride. Party waves are encouraged! 

For objects that can accommodate multiple people, the group will win as a team. As an example, if multiple people are on an air mattress, in an inflatable pool or on a supsquash, they will all win if they were to get the highest score.

Beach Cleanup

Unnecessary human refuge limits vital oceanic capacity. Attending beach cleanups helps communities become better networked to address essential challenges and opportunities.

Fortunately–I find it the process of waste removal very relaxing, it’s like putting the last piece in a beautiful puzzle. 3x a week I trek along the ocean side to canyon powered waves, my surf rig is a virtual Wall-EE of ocean junk removal.

Balloon shards and ribbons are one of the most prolific ocean waste products.

Participation in local beach cleanups literally help people tactically understand the many common products that directly contribute to oceanic decline. Hopefully these new champions of ocean environments will help the government more effectively manage our planets precious, and limited resources.

House Party

A banquet post surf party is true to form per 12th century cave paintings depicting the surf culture.

Some very kind neighbors in Leucadia put up very well with a bit loud and raucous party, several even came by to make generous donations to Sea Collective—communities can rally together like this.

Food & Drinks

Fermented beverages are spokes in the wheel of good health.

Fresh ingredient tacos can help heal wounded biomes.

Juvenile Seagulls Surf Band

They say the snake will eat itself, like seeing the comfortably audacious Juvenile Seagulls play reminiscent 1985 punk compulsion driven rock and roll music.

Sea Collective Fundraising Auction

The Sea Collective is a grass roots organization on the front lines nurturing healthy and sustainable fishing for local communities around the world. Remember, if you really want to get something done, support a non-profit like Sea Collective.

Event Takeaway

More important than the enmity of professional surfing, is the supremely powerful local empowered surf community.

Imagine surfing.

Go surfing.

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Are You From San Diego? Do You Have a Joe Roper Restored Surfboard?

Ah the shambhala like state of our oceanic friendly southern California sunshine city. San Diego is one of the worlds iconic locations for surfing. Like the Beach Boys said, it’s “hooo, HOOO, All Over La Jolla, Surfing USA, twanga twang.”

Many things endear us tenderly as San Diegans, like the fountain on the Prado that Nickel Creek sang about, or the top of Mount Soledad that looks like it belongs to the grinch, or the Mission trails that we all stroll along in.

What is the San Diego Insiders Code?

Certain things mark the voodoo that the true San Diegan insiders do do and don’t do. Like wearing socks with your flip flops–never do that. Go get an old hat and wear shorts and flip flops instead.

There is one thing that distinguishes a San Diego surf lover above all others, that’s ownership of a classic surfboard that has been restored by the G&S guild-ed master Joe Roper.

Brief History of Joe Roper

Joe was a surfer grom who loved surfing in Pacific Beach. G&S sponsored him as a skater, and he joined their guild of surf craft. He also joined the Wind An Sea surf club and charged like hell surfing big rock. Later he wonderfully distinguished San Diegian surfing by similarly charging the Pipeline. Gary Lopez gifted Joe a stunning lightning bolt surfboard, and they remain friends.

Joe has gone on to provide more than 47 years of epic aesthetic surfing services to the San Diego community with his shop Joe Roper’s Surfboard and SUP Repair.

Vintage Surfboard Restorations

Restored vintage surfboards are museum worthy displays of mid-century modern surf craft. Every time you look at one of these restored surfboards you take a mental surfing trip with them. I walk into my board room, and I’ve gone surfing, gone surfing, gone surfing, and gone surfing just by looking around at the aesthetic gems that Joe has restored to gleaming brilliance.

Jaun Grande Surfboard

It takes a competent craft person to can navigate the many modalities of surfboard restoration, from cleaning, to sanding, to patching, to sanding again, laminating, more sanding, cleaning & prep—color matching, and applying a gel coat and buffing, surfboard repair requires many, often simultaneous levels of expertise to get the best results.

Tales of Eric Huffman & Joe Roper

Eric Huffman knows more about surfboard fins than anyone else I know.

His qualification include developing contemporary surfboard production at UC San Diego, his charitible contributions including the epic Plastic Fantastic he gifted the California Surfing Museum in Oceancide. Then there’s the pope’s surfboard signed in the shed.

The shed itself is a whirling vortex of the most iconic surfboard wave on planet Earth.

He can give you a dissemination on whatever surfboard question you bring to him, and he can do it in one video take.

In my Land Cruiser one days was a twin fin Santa Cruz that I had picked up from Mikey’s Pack Ratt Records the day. I pulled it out and walked into the original Bird’s Surf Shed on Morena Blvd. It was a treat, inside I found both Eric Huffman and Joe Roper.

I had never before talked with both Eric Huffman and Joe Roper at the same time, yet I have chartered both of them collaboratively to restore many surfboards in my collection. The moment I saw them both in person the iconic image of Bird getting the bird by roper on the same wave at Windinsea came to mind. Together, they emit a powerful energy that feels like Bpreas and Vulcanus Rex.

Joe was dropping off an epically restored Channin Surfboards, with a pipeline of pinlines that merged and diverged like an Esther pattern. The surfboard was incredibly emotionally evocative and left you with a sentient vide of a woken master.

Eric and I were gleaming over this newly restored surfboard masterpiece, and Bird dropped the mike, “Why do I do this again?” he asked me?

Spontaneously I replied, “Surfboards make people feel good, even non-surfers can feel better after experiencing a surfboard like this.”

Face it, in your moment of death you will look back on your life and think–well what was I up to, what did I look at? If you can say you spent much of your time looking at epic Joe Roper restored surfboards, you feel satisfied.

That’s why the mark of every true San Diegan, whether they live here or elsewhere, is ownership in a Joe Roper restored vintage surfboard.

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Free Ride 1977

Gold Standard Seventies Surf Film

Bill Delaney found a surprising reward for his 1977 surf movie Free Ride. He featured the world’s most radical and progressive shortboard surfers, and was rewarded at the box office.

It is considered to be one of the most important surf movies of all time, and it helped to define the shortboard revolution of the late 1970s. Many of the incredible surfers would soon be riding Canyon Surfboards, designed and shaped by Rusty. The film features some of the world’s most progressive surfers at the time, including Wayne Bartholomew, Shaun Tomson, and Mark Richards. It also features groundbreaking slow-motion water photography that was state-of-the-art at the time. Free Ride was an instant hit when it was released, and it is still considered to be one of the best surf movies ever made.

Here are some additional details about the film:

  • It was filmed in Australia, Hawaii, and California.
  • The soundtrack features music by The Beach Boys, The Doors, and Jimi Hendrix.
  • The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
  • It was inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame in 2002.

Free Ride is a classic surf movie that captures the spirit of the sport at a time of great change and innovation. It is a must-see for any fan of surfing.

Bill Delaney directed the following movies:

  • The Young Marrieds (1964)
  • Free Ride (1977)
  • Surfers: The Movie (1990)
  • Surfers: The Movie – Then and Now (2008)

He also directed several television episodes, including one for the series The Rockford Files.

Delaney was a pioneer in the surf film genre, and his work helped to define the shortboard revolution of the late 1970s. Free Ride is considered to be one of the most important surf movies of all time, and it is still considered to be one of the best surf movies ever made. Free Ride is in the pantheon of top surf documentaries along with Endless Summer and Morning of the Earth.

Visit FreeRideFirlm.com to watch the full film and discover celebratory events.

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The Wilderness Surfboard House, George Greenough and Rusty Miller

Tuesday I swung by Pack Ratt Records on El Cajon Blvd., to drop off some works of the late Hunter Thompson, and I see this big, blue, and beautiful Wilderness Surfboards downrailer. These vintage surfboards are pretty rare.

Mikey fills me in on his visit to the iconic Wilderness Surfboard house when he was a 16 year old skater visiting for a contest (sponsored by G&S), and he gets permission to stay in here. It was an original California wooden bungalow in Santa Barbara that was right on the side of where Highway 101 passed. In the 1960’s it had been converted into a surfboard factory by removing common residential rooms for cooking, living and sleeping, where transformed into rooms for surfboard laminating, painting and sanding. Word going down on El Cajon Blvd. that day was that some time world championship surfer Tom Curren had lived in this house.

The Wilderness House in Santa Barbara

When Mikey went to stay at the Wilderness House it for his skateboard competition in the very early 1990s, it was no longer an active surfboard factory, though the construction facilities had not been returned for residential either. It was filled with vintage surfboards in all manner of rooms and rafters. There was a very strict rule in place at the house which was no matter what don’t mess with these surfboards.

In the leaving room which was a wrap around rack of standing surfboards back to back. Mikey goes to examine a spoon by George Greenaugh but gets reminded not to touch the surfboards. In the laminating room (former kitchen), there are surfboards on all the tables, again there is this other surfboard that Mikey can barely contain himself not to wrap himself around. Then while passing a section of open roof rafters piled with surfboards, there was another George Greenough spoon that Mikey just begged the guy to let him take it to Kinko’s to just copy it. He was again reminded not mess with the Wilderness Surfboards house boards.

George Greenough Spoon Surfboards

George Greenough was an innovator and mid-century modern master crafts person working in underwater recording gear, surfboards, fins, and boats. Notable for not wearing shoes, socks, or ever much more than a resin tinted pair of Levi’s original 501 jeans tide together with a rope. In the 1966 San Diego World Surfing championships contest, Nat Young who was riding one of George’s new fins, became world champion.

When Mikey gets to the point of the story of wanting to run off to Kinko’s with as many boards as he can carry, this other guy stops by the shop with two relatively recently created George Greenough spoon surfboards. With George’s permission, and a template honorarium to the creator, these two spoons were ready to ride. Mikey suggested shutting down the shop for the day to go ride, but instead went on a with a how he would prefer to paint one of them.

Hunter was heading out from the shop in his VW van on up to Santa Cruz, where it will be timed with an amazing offshore wind and wave event. Swell times ahead for those spoons!

During my weekly Zoom crew checkup, I asked my buddy Dino (who went to school in Santa Barbara), if he had heard of Wilderness Surfboards, and he told me the story of meeting George Greenough and Rusty Miller about the same time Mikey was visiting the Wilderness surfboards house.

But this was in Brisbane Bay Australia.

In the early 1990’s the Surfrider Foundation had fund raised and built a new type of aluminum catamaran sailboat that would travel the world as a surfing emissary. My sea scout shipmate Dino had found his way on as an officer, and recalled the day he pulled into Byron Bay Australia, and George Greenhough himself came out in a craft of his own design to inspect this new visitor. Later in port Dino made dinner for George and another famous surfer, world championship surfer Rusty Miller.

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Early Accounts of Surfing

Relevational Amphibious Community Found to Exist Strikes Awe to the Soul of Maritime Europe

Written by Dustin Baly, April 23rd, 2023

In 1778, which is 245 years ago or just 13% of time since acclaimed (and only partially observed) 0 year, noted in the log of Captain Cook’s Expedition, was an account of community oceanic play.

Here is an edited version of Lieutenant King’s account, from The Voyage of the Resolution and Discovery.

“But a diversion the most common is upon the Water, where there is a very great Sea, and surf breaking on the Shore. The people sometimes 20 or 30 go about the Swell of the surf, and lay themselves flat upon an oval piece of plank about their size and breadth, they keep their legs close on top of it, and their arms are used to guide the plain, they wait the time of the greatest swell that sets on the Shore, and altogether push forward with their arms to keep on its top, it sends them in with a most astonishing velocity, and the great art is to guide the plank so always to keep it in a proper direction on the top of the Swell, and as it alters its direction. If the swell drives close to the rocks before overtaken by its break, there is much praise. On first seeing this very dangerous diversion I did not conceive it possible but that some of them must be dashed apart against sharp rocks, but just before they reach the shore, if they are very near, they quit their plan, and dive under till the surf is broke, when the piece of plank is sent yards by the force of the surf toward the beach. The great number are generally overtaken by the break of the swell, the force of which they avoid, diving and swimming under the water out of its impulse. By such like exercises these people may be said to be almost amphibious. “But a diversion the most common is upon the Water, where there is a very great Sea, and surf breaking on the Shore. The people sometimes 20 or 30 go about the Swell of the surf, and lay themselves flat upon an oval piece of plank about their size and breadth, they keep their legs close on top of it, and their arms are used to guide the plain, they wait the time of the greatest swell that sets on the Shore, and altogether push forward with their arms to keep on its top, it sends them in with a most astonishing velocity, and the great art is to guide the plank so always to keep it in a proper direction on the top of the Swell, and as it alters its direction. If the swell drives close to the rocks before overtaken by its break, there is much praise. On first seeing this very dangerous diversion I did not conceive it possible but that some of them must be dashed apart against sharp rocks, but just before they reach the shore, if they are very near, they quit their plan, and dive under till the surf is broke, when the piece of plank is sent yards by the force of the surf toward the beach. The great number are generally overtaken by the break of the swell, the force of which they avoid, diving and swimming under the water out of its impulse. By such like exercises these people may be said to be almost amphibious.”

Unprecedented account of amphibious people reveling in unthinkably dangerous waves.

Source: Canyon Surfboards

Jack London Surfing Account from 1907

Lie out there quietly on your board. Sea after sea breaks before behind and under and over you, and rushes in on shore, leaving you behind. When a wave crests, it gets steeper. Imagine yourself on your board, on the face of that steep slope. If it stood still you would slide down just as a boy slides down a hill on coaster. “Buy,” you object, “the wave doesn’t stand still.” Very true, but the water composing the waves stands still, and there you have the secret. If you ever start sliding down the face of that wave, you’ll keep on sliding and you’ll never reach the bottom. Please don’t laugh. The face may be six feed, yet you can slide down it a quarter of a mile, or half a mile and not reach the bottom. For, see since a wave is only communicated agitation or impetus, and since the water that composes the wave is change every instant, new water is rising into the wave as fast as the wave travels. You slide down this new water and yet remain in your old position on the wave skidding down the still never water that is rising and forming the wave…between you and the shore stretches a quarter mile of water. As the wave travels, the water obligingly heaps itself into the wave, gravity does the rest, and down you go sliding the whole length of it…

Highest Chiefs Aged 50-60 Rip Surfing

We have seen Karaimoku and Kakioeva, some of the highest chiefs in the island, both between fifty and sixty years of age and large corpulent men, balancing themselves on their long and narrow boards, or splashing about in the foam, with as much satisfaction of youths of sixteen.

Surf-riders often personal surf chants that proclaimed unique glory and skill.

Mark Twain On Surfing

I tried surf-bathing once, subsequently, but made a failure of it. I got the board placed right, and at the right moment, too; but missed the connection myself.

The Surf Temple Aspect of Amphibious Humans

The location of ancient surfing places coincides very closely with the location of these coastal settlements and with areas of population density.

What is the Kuemanu Heiau?

A heiasu is an ancient Hawaiin shrine or place of worship. It might be built with a community, an individual deity, and an activity. At Kahuluu Bay on the Kona coast stands a large structure built of lichen spotted black lava rock, which was well known to local Hawaiians in the early 1900s as a surfing heiu, were one might pray for strong surf.

Migratory amphibious humans sought to expedition through the oceans for the greatest waves.

Sources:

The Voyage of the Resolution and Discovery 1776-1780 by Captain Cook and King

Surfing, A History of the Ancient Hawaiian Sport by Ben Finney and James D. Houston

The Sacramento Union Newspaper, The Ajax Voyage Continued

The Cruise of the Snark, by Jack London

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David Eggers Surfing

David Eggers Surfing Cuttback

Evocative Surfing Master

David Eggers surfing can be described as always on point positioning. Just exactly where his surfing position was—was deep, full throttle, and somewhere you did not even image. David Eggers was a San Diego-born surf star who died at the age of 45 in 2018.

He was a distinguished and advanced child surfing prodigy.

He achieved his goal of radical surfing on the largest stages in the world.

David Eggers was a gifted surfer who had a natural talent for the sport. He was known for his smooth style and his ability to ride waves of all sizes. He was also a very competitive surfer, and he often pushed himself to the limit in order to win.

Watching David Eggers surf was an exhilarating experience. He had a way of making surfing look effortless, and he always seemed to be in the right position to catch the perfect wave. He was also a very exciting surfer to watch, as he was always willing to take on big waves and try new tricks.

Surfing was not ready to truly appreciate David’s surfing talents. He is fondly remembered as one of the most talented Generation X surfers.

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How To Buy a Vintage Surfboard In San Diego

Scoring a Historic Surfboard in California’s Surf Capital—Made Easy

Why Shop for a Vintage Surfboard In San Diego?

San Diego’s surfing community has California magic status. 

It may be because that in every oceanic direction away from San Diego, the water gets colder.

Surfing, once re-allowable after the mission system persecution ended, was quickly anchored for the continental United States in San Diego.

The San Diego surf culture has been blessed with brands such as Hobie, G&S, and Canyon, shapers such as Skip Frye, Rusty Preisendorfer, Mike Hyson, Tom Bessel, Mike Educk Richardson, and Rick Hamon, and epic breaks such as Blacks, La Jolla Cove, WindinSea and the Cliffs.

Why Buy A Vintage Surfboard?

Vintage surfboards proudly display a historical patina of doing what they were designed to do. When they are restored by experts in the craft of surfboard reconstruction and preservation, they can evoke museum worthy sensations from their gloss coats powerfully illuminating their true resin tint colors.

Values of vintage surfboards have been increasing. Expectedly, there will be no vintage surfboard replenishment. The age of surfboard construction has changed and they really do not make surfboards like this any more.

Best Surfshops to Buy Vintage Surfboards in San Diego 2023

#1 Birds Surfshed on Morena Blvd.

Eric Huffman is popularly symbolized as Bird–yet as I’ve got to know him over the last 10 years I’ve come to discover that he is essentially the mayor of surfing. 

He’s a leading surfboard historian with significant surfboards hanging from the ceiling of his legendary quanza hut on Morena Blvd.

It’s the ultimate San Diego surf museum and the top historian is on the floor helping you deepend your relationship with wave craft.

This surfshop is a satisfying intermingling of epic surfboards boards that are not for sale, with legendary surfcraft too that you can buy.

Birds’ is an expert business model built to preserve and display an industries finest achievements while also fulfilling modern culture and commerce like a ride with a gift shop in it.

Birds Surf Shed has played an important role in the development of surf culture in San Diego and beyond. Bird has been a San Diego surf industry insider since the 1960’s. The shop displays surfboards from many top surfers, including Kelly Slater, Shaun Tomson, Tom Curren, and Rob Machado. This location often hosts private events and is a natural gathering place for surfers and alternative wave craft enthusiasts.

There are always epic surfboards going in and out of this shop. One saturday I stopped by with a late 1960’s Surfboards Hawaii singlefin and I asked him if you might know who was building these boards around this time. Within minutes Bird has sourced a photo of the shaper, sander, laminator, and famous young team rider David Nuvevua. 

Bird’s Surf Shed

Phone: (619) 276-2473

1091 W Morena Blvd, San Diego, CA 92110

#2 Coconut Peet’s on India Street

Dave, the larger than life gentleman who will greet you in the straw hat at Coconut Peat’s surfshop can help you shop through their amazing warehouse compound surfboard hoard.

If you get the opportunity I highly recommend trying to get Dave to talk about what it was like to watch David Eggers surf.

Browsing the racks of longboards, shortboards, paddle boards, single fin boards, fish, quads, and kneeboards, you can hold specimens that are pristine to well into decay, but still could be saved, displayed and ridden.

Coconut Peet’s is a safe haven for new and many nearly destroyed surfboards from past shaping style ages.

The sheer amount of vintage surf patina here can be a bit overwhelming for some. If you like to look at epic surfboards from all ages, this place will blow you away.

I was born in San Diego, but came of age surfing the San Mateo county coast in the 1980’s and 1990’s. While qualify precision craft surfboards are a rarity north of Santa Cruz, Cowboy Surfboards from Half Moon Bay, where Cowboy Craig MacArthur could design, shape, laminate, glass, color, sell and shred made wonderful surfboards.

Craig had shaped me a surfboard in 1991 for my 21st birthday which I still have and ride every year.

While wondering around the stacks of boards one day at Peets, I caught the glimmer of an ancient Cowboy symbol and I was urged to see if it was a sticker or an under the glass laminate logo. Very carefully I heaved the row of thirty tall surfboards wedged together carefully apart so I could examine it more closely. Though grossly distorted with an amateur red paint job, I had indeed found a Craig designed Cowboy in a distressed and unrideable condition. 

Unfortunately I had to leave this board behind for a few days, because I found it when I was there to pick up another surfboard. Eventually, I had the joy of removing the foul red paint to reveal more Craig original artwork, but that’s another story.

Coconut Peet’s Surfboard Repair and Trading Co., LLC

3231 India St, San Diego, CA 92103

Phone: (619) 224-2010

Coconut Peets Surfboard Repair & Trading

#3 Pack Ratt Records on El Cajon Blvd.

Mike Ratt is an alternative surf craft renaissance man who rides knee boards, creates mystical surf artwork, spins records as a club DJ, publishes the Lower Powered surf zine, and owns Pack Ratt Records on El Cajon Blvd. 

When you need everything from skateboard bearings, to tiki wares, to records, clothes and astounding surfboards, Mikey’s shop has you covered.

One day Mikey and I were deep in a passionate conversation about what he thought was the most iconic mid-century modern styled surfboard. He was describing the virtues of the flex spoon when another customer stopped by. The guy mentioned he had to disuse his personal quiver as the result of a hip injury, but he really wanted to get back in the water. 

Mikey helped him find a well suited inflatable canvas surf mat. 

I remember my grandfather catching waves in the 1970’s on his surf mat in front of beach front Mission Beach property. He was a commanding submarine engineer who survived 7 Pacific combat tours during WWII.

It’s kind of the thing at Mikey’s surf shop, he specializes in eclectic surf craft items with broad usability. Go ride a flex spoon, surf mat, long board, short board, single fin board, or just go trip out on all the honest aesthetic surf craft. Follow him on Instagram and hit him up–he’ll deliver the goods.

Pack Ratt Records and Junk

4746 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, CA 92115

 Phone: (619) 581-9168

#4 Get a New Vintage Surfboard made by Rusty Preisendorfer

One of Rusty’s motto’s has been–talk to your shaper. So, In addition to Rusty Del Mar shop (which has a great 80’s Canyon Surfboard in their permanent collection) and RustySurfboards.com (where you can get retro surfboards delivered), you can talk to the big guy about the vintage surfboard recreation of your dreams.

Before starting Rusty Surfboards in 1985, Rusty had created his own Music! Surfboards line and worked with several other Surfboard companies, including Gordan and Smith.

If you’re going to go hang out with the big man, my advice is to bring a few savory dog cookies for his enormous surfboard temple guardian canine companion.

Rusty has shaped surfboards for elite surfers including: Shaun Thomson, Mark Occhilupo, Kelly Slater, Sunny Garcia, and David Eggers.

Rusty Surfboards

8495 Commerce Ave, San Diego, CA 92121

Phone: (858) 578-0414

Rusty Preisendorfer Surfboards