Longboarding...

I recall becoming frustrated and bored (board?!) with smaller surf craft... It was around 2001 and 2002 on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Little North Avalon was being ruled by longer craft on those numerous small days, and I needed a bigger slice of the action!

I actually started on a 8 foot McTavish Carver from Watto at Beach Without Sand, and I will always remember those first longboard waves... Riding an 8 foot Longboard on some lefts at Kiddies Corners at Palm Beach. 8 foot Longboards, and Lefts at Kiddies... Don't freaking exist! Well yes they did on that fine day in my personal history... Instant convert! Within 1 month I was onto the McTavish Original 9'1, (from Watto at Beach Without Sand, again). That's the board that I sold to OceanBlue64(?) from down my, after I eventually fatally creased it at Bells, and finally snapped at Winki (Vic).

Water under the bridge, a flotilla of boards later... And a decade later and I'm loving the EvoII (similar to Original) amongst other craft.

I've even surfed two of Mac's sons McT's... Maybe I surfed those boards more than Mac's son!?

So what's your story?

started as a water mad South of the River grom .... Dad gave me his battered ( I say well loved ) old mal to muck around on but the mate's & I used kneelos & short foamies too
Work , family death & illness plus hand building my own house (over a few years) took me away for over 10 years , regret this in some ways , didn't have a choice when it came down to the nuts of it all
Came back last year and really , I've got an inner Burn for it ... building up a decent quiver now 801 Len Dibben MidMal , 901 HP Munro Mal , 903 HP Goddard Islander coming then another 906 Goddard Log ... even thinking a 6'er too
Still super fit and got my hair , cock still gets hard and I love da girls - all sweet


EDIT: and I have the greenroom lads for solace , laughs & brotherhood ---> sweeeeeeeeeter

Cool! ^

It's sort of case of how far back do you go... I remember dad pushing me into some waves on a white foamie when I was 3 down at Lorne...

I guess that's when the trouble really started.

About 3 Christmases ago for me, work was hell stressful and a mate from Rockingham said to come on down to Secrets and have a surf, I just laughed at him.
Two weekends in a row and I was hooked (couldn't surf though) Loved the water, loved the exercise. Most of the blokes I met put up with a beginner in the midst for a short while but all were very protective of their secret spots.
Got myself a locally shaped Katana board and have been improving ever since (I hope)
My most enjoyable surfs have been in QLD with the crew from the garden.

Surfed a longboard that did not belong to me in the summer of 66/67 for just over one week up at woopi before it was taken off me by my brother.

Never surfed gain for about over 25 years because I was raising a family and disliked everything I saw about short boards, then got a mal and surfed for maybe 5 years before damaging my knee.

Had an operation about   5 years back and tried really hard to get back into it again but I was just too old and slow. Then around 2 years ago I stated to find boards that I could ride and now it's all I live for.

With a bit of luck, I may go another 10 years.

I guess I'm in a kind of a time warp, I never deviated away from the last days of the classic longboard era. I was just asleep for 30 years.

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obct said...


Surfed a longboard that did not belong to me in the summer of 66/67 for just over one week up at woopi before it was taken off me by my brother.

Never surfed gain for about over 25 years because I was raising a family and disliked everything I saw about short boards, then got a mal and surfed for maybe 5 years before damaging my knee.

Had an operation about   5 years back and tried really hard to get back into it again but I was just too old and slow. Then around 2 years ago I stated to find boards that I could ride and now it's all I live for.

With a bit of luck, I may go another 10 years.

I guess I'm in a kind of a time warp, I never deviated away from the last days of the classic longboard era. I was just asleep for 30 years.

gotta like this eh?

I grew up in a pov area in a pov family,all there was,was the local rolla skating rink,I soon became hooked on speed skating and won gold at the QLD titles in Gladstone and third in the nationals,I was spending all my money to fund this sport until my sister broke her leg skating so I cut her skates up to make my first skateboard and in time was hitting the indoor skate parks and ramp and bowl riding became to new love,in one skate mag I saw a guy surfing and had to have a go at this,mum purchased 10 buck single fin for me and that was it,I bused it everywhere.When I started work 15 I started on a shortie and hooked for life.A few years later I had my crew of guys and a year or so later met guys like Lacey and so on.Married young 22 started the first home and kids and stopped for 5 years to feed the gang until on family day at Burliegh I was watching the guys surfing and told my wife I miss surfing.She said get a board,not in shape I went for an 8 foot longboad and was chatting to some guys out the back about hoe easy it was to paddle and catch waves,the reply I got was hey mate a longboard starts at 9 foot so off I go and get my first of many McT's.
At 50 I am past my prime and my surfing has gone to the ****ter but I still love it.
Best memories,Hawaii in 07 the history of longboarding,travelled to a heap of places which I would not have without my passion for surfing,met some really cool people along the way and now I get a buzz out of others frothing.

I started swimming competively when I was 8 , training night and morning so always in the water . About 1966/67 started to hire mals must have been 906-10 ft dad used to carry them to the water for me would paddle out used to be a mission to get it turned out the back would rotate the legs flat out to get it round ,stood up on the first wave pretty well , took about 2 years to get my own board . Surfing was really taking off then I remmber people getting boards made and they were out dated by the time they got them . A new board was $80 -$100 then I think petrol was about 25cents a litre .
I have had a couple of breaks for one reason or another , just wish I had've shifted to Gisborne earlyer in my life sure makes it easier when you have good surf at the back The coolest car I ever went surfing in was a 1937 chev , was my cousins boy frends thought me sh!t didn't stink lol

i started longboarding because of this forum. surfed sb my whole life.got injured,no surfing for 6years.....

started to 666...got stronger....got sick off the peanuts in there being mean to me all the time.....so had a read in the beer garden forum sep last year...bought a board off mac 2 weeks later...wish i was not such a hater growing up and would have given one a crack back when i was a grom....better to smile now than never smile at all i guess....

Trouble for me started when we left the orchard and moved into town....I had to give up the dirt bikes and got myself a surfboard as compensation....My older brother told my mum it was a bad thing to do as all the 'surfies' at his school smoke weed and wagged school. I would have no future if I became one of those types. I overhead Mum saying not to worry as it would just be a fad and I would be over it soon......I remind Mum of this most times we catch up 20 plus yrs later A couple of years later we moved to within striking distance of Raglan and my fate was sealed - after 4.5 yrs there I was never looking back (I am even engaged to a chick who used to live right above Indicators).......Lost a few yrs of surfing whilst camped out in London Town but still managed many side trips....my lowest moments were the ever increasing crowds on the northern beaches and their blatant disregard for etiquette...it drove me to take up 666's to restore the joy of the ocean. 2 yrs after leaving the northern beachies and the crowds life has never been better and those 666's are collecting dust My best times these days are mid week camping trips to PP - heaven. I am now attempting to make my first longboard - ahhhhhh.

I suppose it was the captains father that used to fire a shot gun at me as I walked across to indicators instead of paddling across

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Ted the Kiwi said...

Trouble for me started when we left the orchard and moved into town....I had to give up the dirt bikes and got myself a surfboard as compensation....My older brother told my mum it was a bad thing to do as all the 'surfies' at his school smoke weed and wagged school. I would have no future if I became one of those types. I overhead Mum saying not to worry as it would just be a fad and I would be over it soon......I remind Mum of this most times we catch up 20 plus yrs later A couple of years later we moved to within striking distance of Raglan and my fate was sealed - after 4.5 yrs there I was never looking back (I am even engaged to a chick who used to live right above Indicators).......Lost a few yrs of surfing whilst camped out in London Town but still managed many side trips....my lowest moments were the ever increasing crowds on the northern beaches and their blatant disregard for etiquette...it drove me to take up 666's to restore the joy of the ocean. 2 yrs after leaving the northern beachies and the crowds life has never been better and those 666's are collecting dust My best times these days are mid week camping trips to PP - heaven. I am now attempting to make my first longboard - ahhhhhh.

I started in 1981 when I was 14yo. Mate found an old 7'2" single fin on bulk/hard rubbish and sold it to me for $2.

I had been a keen skateboarder and used to treadlie down the beach for a body bash every weekend...

The board was rough, but I managed to get hold of some boat fibreglass and resin from the bloke next door who used to make his own kayaks for the Avon Descent. I basically reglassed the whole board and probably added 4-5kgs to the weight...

Anyway, I was hooked. That board lasted around 3 months until I found a much better 7'2" single at a swap meet for $35. Rode that for about 6 months until I saved enough for a 5'10" 6 channel Colin Earl Cordingley single fin which I kept until I could actually surf well enough... From there went to custom thrusters mostly 5'11" to 6'2".

Started getting longer and fatter boards at age 34 after I broke my back in a cycling accident and was out of the water for 10 months - losing a lot of strength and fitness... got my first proper mal about 42yo (3yrs ago) for the summer metro waves in Perth. I'm pretty much a weekend warrior now - but still keen and start checking the forecasts on Wednesday for Saturday...

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chrispychru said...
....better to smile now than never smile at all i guess....

+1 mate. You are all over that one there

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towball said...

I suppose it was the captains father that used to fire a shot gun at me as I walked across to indicators instead of paddling across

I wish that was her father (although if he was we would probably be living there ) he fired a few at me as well in the old days.....I loved it when he put the big fence up to annoy everyone. That was quality.

i grew up in melb a solid couple of hrs from a wave but all i wanted to do was surf..

at 16 i saved enough and bought my first board while visiting dad in sydney from the dee why surf shop..a 5' 10 mcoy

took it back home and messed around

at 19 bought a combie and took my board and the dog (boozer was his name) on a road trip and headed north stopped everywhere you could think of...

then when i got to the whitsundays a new thing took my eye , sailing, beer, rum and chicks with no tops all year round !! so for years was a grotty yachty

at age 40 moved back down the sunny coast after sailing many a great and famous yacht and marrying one of those hotties with no tops.

got some boards off ebay , struggled , couple of years later got some good advice and got some better boards and my wife and i surf most days of the week and shes still hot

we arent epic but have heaps of fun, the 11 year old surfs and the 15 year old will and HE will be epic.

YEWOO great post simondo!!

when i realised someone on the forum might find out that my 5'9 barry bennet single fin was in actual fact............. not a mal