Everyone was riding nine-foot-plus boards till 1967. This tiny board was so small and heavy, with George's deep hull front end. We rode it at Alex shore break, and found it very challenging, discouraging actually. If only we'd persevered with it. We may have started the Shortboard Revolution three years early.
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"No wave is too steep or too ferocious to conquer, it seems, in these days of high-powered, high-performance pro surfing."
Recently while flicking through a Surfing World magazine from August 1967 I came across this colourful advertisement (click enlarge for full perineum-popping effect).
It's an ad that invites so many questions, such as: 'were budgerigars smaller in 1967?' and 'was the fellow responsible for the testicle separation in number 4 able to procreate?' But perhaps the most pertinent question is 'who the fuck wore them?'
Any of you old blokes out there willing to own up? Still got a pair perhaps?
It was fifty years ago today that Dave Jackman rode the bommie
