Chapter 6 - Surfing


We moved from Tennessee to Jacksonville Beach, Florida, in 1959, about 10 blocks from the ocean. I had visited Fernandina Beach, Myrtle Beach, and even Hawaii, but had never before lived close enough to the ocean that I could be in it any time I wanted to. As a twelve year old I loved to swim, frolic in the surf, and ride the waves on my stomach. When I was in the eleventh grade board surfing came to our beach. Bruce Brown toured the country, showing his home made film, The Endless Summer, at small beach side local theaters. I don’t know if he had music, but he narrated the film in person. After the film’s popularity soared, it was redone professionally and a sound track was added.
Before 1962 there were maybe a dozen surfboards in our area. People had brought them home as souvenirs from California where surfing first became popular, and there were several used for ocean rescue, and there were even two plywood boards made from a kit in Popular Mechanix or Mechanics Illustrated, I can’t remember which. My brother, George, borrowed one of these plywood boards from Chris Summey

(That was my plywood surfboard, I had loaned to George. You often had both your thighs bruised badly when the board would perl. You had to almost hang off the back of the board to keep it from perling. 
Great times!) - Chris Summey
I remember back in the early 60's Johnny Bradshaw and me made our first plywood boards in his garage with the help of his dad. Johnny lived at the corner of Oleander street and Strand St in Neptune Beach and I lived one block over on Myra Street. After we built the boards it would take both of us to carry them to the beach from Johnny's house. And yes on the drain plug.
My next board was a pin stripe red and white home made from Calf then the pop outs to Gordon and Smith to the surf team at the Village Store in Jax Bch and so on.
Those were the good old days. - Gary Fiske

in 1962. It took both of us to carry it 10 blocks to the ocean. He would ride a wave and then I would take a turn. We had to drain the seawater out of a plug in the bottom after every 2 waves. Later we bought a “popout” from Western Auto for $79. These boards came from a mold and every one was exactly alike. There was a man in Jacksonville who owned a fiberglass shop, and he made some for us too. They were rough looking, appearing as if they were made from paper mache, but they rode the waves. True hand made surfboards arrived from California soon after and it was game on.
Surfing for me like many others, became a lifestyle. Until I moved to the mountains 4 years ago. I never lived too far from the beach, in Florida, California, and even Hawaii for a few years. Surfing is much more than an athletic event. I would go as far to say that surfing can be spiritual. When you are flying down the face of a wave, big or small, there is a sensation that gets inside of you. Many surfers, including me will tell you that surfing is better than sex. In the movie, Point Break, after hearing this comment, a woman replies to one of the surfers, “Maybe you’re not doing it right?” When you leave the water, You have a feeling of fulfillment and peace. Surfing can be very therapeutic. I prefer the long board style of surfing, where you surf with the wave. Some prefer short board surfing where the wave is a medium to be surfed on.
If I outlive my wife I plan to pare down my possessions to a minimum, and move back to the tropics. I will get a room within walking distance to the water and go surfing every day. 3/2021

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