Heritage, Craft & Evolution: Surfboard Design 1885 – 1959

[billie_morini]

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum curated another wonderful surf-related exhibit. This one is called:

"Heritage, Craft & Evolution: Surfboard Design 1885 – 1959"

The local television news station broadcast this story about the exhibit:
https://youtu.be/GgMnXS48CRQ

The exhibit traces the history of surfing and the evolution of surfboard design, illustrated by replica boards with oil painting vignettes of the locations, plus text and historic photographs. The book and the exhibit are the result of a unique collaboration between three important figures in the California surfing community: Renny Yater, one of the first commercial surfboard shapers of the 1950s; John Comer, plein- air painter; and painter and surfboard shaper, Kevin Ancell. Altogether, the exhibit presents a multimedia story of surfing, surfboard development, and the California surfing scene.

Without much commentary, I'll post photos depicting a lot of what I saw. The most exciting aspect of this unique exhibits are:

1) The ability to recognize better than 95% of the painted surf breaks, and
2) The large longboard featuring beautiful Mother of Pearl inlays obtained from abalone (Mother of Pearl is formally known as "nacre," which is an iridescent material composed of calcium carbonate formed by mollusks to protect their soft inner tissue). You'll definitely realize when you see this longboard in the photos below.

[billie_morini]

This is the first exhibit in this mesmerizing exhibit. I did not know this! The first surfers on USA shoreline were three Hawaiian brothers attending boarding school near Santa Cruz, California. The Kawananakoa brothers surfed the San Lorenzo River mouth in 1885!

[billie_morini]

Exhibit feature. Closeups provided below.

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Huntington Beach pier.

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Must guess. This could be ???

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Exhibit feature. Closeups provided below.

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Malibu Pier

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Rincon

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Little stories that accompany the previous two boards.

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Here are some construction details for the Renny Yater "Rincon" board above. (1)

[billie_morini]

Here are some construction details for the Renny Yater "Rincon" board above. (2)

[billie_morini]

This looks the primary feature within the exhibit. It looks like the title board. If I remember correctly, it was located after the features shared above. Thought that weird. Or maybe it is "just me."

[billie_morini]

Exhibit feature specifically for Renny Yater. Renny was one of the first and most prominent commercial surfboard shapers of the 1950s and is largely credited with expanding the sport of surfing. One of his unique attributes has been his ability to adapt to changes in the sport and available materials and to stay on top of current trends. Shaping boards from the 1950s to the present, Renny can still be found working in his shop in Santa Barbara.

[billie_morini]

Poor angle for exhibit placard about George Freeth and Redondo Beach. However, you can see his "plank" board had no fin.

Wikipedia tells us "George Freeth and fellow Hawaiian surfer, Duke Kahanamoku, introduced the sport to the United States. George was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1883. His mother was part-Hawaiian while his father, George Freeth Sr., was an Irish sea captain. Further information taken from various descendants mentions that his mother was Elizabeth Kailikapuolono Green, daughter of William Lowthian Green and Elizabeth "Lepeka" Kahalaunani, a Hawaiian woman. Lepeka also conceived three daughters with Archibald Cleghorn, a well-known businessman of Honolulu. Cleghorn later fathered the well-known Princess Kaiulani with Hawaiian royalty Miriam Likelike, a sister to King David Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani.

While vacationing in Hawaii, industrialist Henry Huntington, saw Freeth surfing and quickly brought him to Redondo Beach, California in 1907 as an attraction showing off "the man who walked on water". According to the 1910 Census, Freeth rented a room at 106 Pacific Avenue in Redondo Beach.

Freeth died at the age of 35 as a result of the global flu pandemic in 1919 while living and working in San Diego. According to his draft registration card a year earlier, Freeth was living at 1940 Abbott Street in San Diego and working as a lifeguard for the City of San Diego. Upon his death, he was buried in Oahu Cemetery in a grave with his sibling, A.R. Freeth."

[billie_morini]

Freeth literally surfed this "lumber" board. The painting depicts him at the Redondo Beach pier.

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Oh! Much better photo of the George Freeth exhibit. This placard reports Freeth rode this hulking plank board!

[billie_morini]

Moving onto the Santa Barbara Channel Collection! You'll see the 4 boards identified in these placards. There's Rincon, El Cap, Refugio, & Pt Conception. Can you correctly identify each surf break?

By the way, Refugio, is a Chumash Indian name. It is pronounced kinda like this: "Ra - foo - fee -O"

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3 of 4 painted boards in the Santa Barbara Channel Collection.

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4th of 4 painted boards in the Santa Barbara Channel Collection.

[billie_morini]

Here's a different angle for the 3 of 4 painted boards in the Santa Barbara Channel Collection. This shot may provide a better view of the painting of George Freeth at Redondo.