British Surfing Museum latest news - January 2009 - the home of British surfing history

Surfing museum fundraising appeal

Thanks to your support we raised £500 which was donated to Surfers Against Sewage in December 2008. In return SAS gave the museum a one-off piece of surfboard art by respected British artist Conrad Shawcross, created as part of SAS 'Drawing Boards' campaign (see photo below). This is an 'eco surfboard' and when we display it next year it will help us get twin messages across - the need for more sustainable living, and highlighting the work of SAS in helping to keep our seas, beaches and rivers free from pollution.

Donations received - thank you!

Jem Oxenden and family - Jersey
Dave Gale - Dorset
Bianca Robinson - Brighton
Peter Robinson - Brighton
Sam Kiddy - South Devon
Darren Warburton - Thailand!!
Andrew Coleman - Brighton
Hugo Tagholm - Dorset
Henry Marfleet - South East England
Scarborough Malibu Club - www.s-m-s-c.org.uk
Tiki Surf Company - Braunton, Devon - www.tikisurf.co.uk
Doctors Jamie & Tabitha Morrison - Brighton
Sally Parkin - The Original Surfboard Company, Devon - www.originalsurfboards.co.uk
Anneke Prins - via Paypal online
Bob & Eileen Groves - Hampshire
Chas Walker - Brighton
Miss R Wilson - Wigan

An art history of British surfing

At least 20,000 people have seen our latest show 'an art history of British surfing' in 2008 - we have visited Havant, Christchurch and Grimsby, continuing to bring surf history to communities around the UK.

We have a limited number of large posters for sale at £15 including postage - email us for details.

Here's a short video from ITV Local showing our installation at Grimsby.

Special surf history displays

We also ran a series of special shows in 2008 - teaming up with legendary surf photographer Jeff Devine for a two month exhibition of his work in Brighton - plus we had a display at the now world-famous Paddle Round the Pier beach festival in Brighton in the summer.

Museum founder Pete Robinson with Jeff Divine & the late Viscount Ted Deerhurst's Lightning Bolt in Brighton - photo by Bianca Robinson.

Our sponsors Oxbow have opened a great new store at South Street in Chichester, West Sussex. The Surfing Museum loaned a couple of vintage surfboards for the opening ceremony which was performed by Oxbow pro surfers Sam Bleakley and Ben Skinner (see photo below). We wish Oxbow every success for the shop and thank them for their sponsorship of The Surfing Museum which has now been confirmed for 2009.

One of Europe’s top pro surfers has been appointed Patron to the British Surfing Museum.
Quiksilver and Gravis rider Gabe Davies, who holds multiple British and national titles, has agreed to join the not for profit organisation and will help out with publicity, advice and special events.
“We asked Gabe because we believe he is the perfect role model for British surfing,” said museum founder and director Pete Robinson, “his recent achievements alone – riding some of the biggest waves in the world off the coast of Ireland – mean his name is already legendary.”
“He has his own great history of British surfing, with his many competition wins and performances in oceans the world over – but more than that he is a forward thinking man with great credentials. Gabe is someone all surfers of all abilities can look up to with admiration.”
Gabe has been surfing since the age of 11, taking to the waves at his home beach of Tynemouth in North East England. He now divides his time between the UK and South West France where he lives with his wife – the best selling fictional author Lauren Davies.
The British Surfing Museum, sponsored by Oxbow UK, is in detailed talks with a trust in Cornwall and plans to establish a permanent home by 2010. Among its many artefacts, the museum owns more than 100 original British surfboards that create a complete timeline of the last century of surfing in the UK.
Its research has recently uncovered remarkable footage of stand-up surfing in Cornwall in 1929, plus references to surfing taking place in England in the mid 19th Century and evidence that Captain James Cook’s crew tried surfboards when they first made contact with Hawaii in 1778.
Gabe Davies said: “One of the most unique and fascinating aspects of surfing is its history and its heritage. Every surfer feels he or she is a direct descendant of the sport of Hawaiian kings. We all share that special connection with the ocean. The British Surfing Museum is the best way for myself and others to view our heritage first hand, as well as to help educate, and of course protect the roots of British surfing. This is something I feel proud to support and I'd encourage participation in the museum at every level”
The surf museum project was started in 2003 by 47 year old Robinson, who runs ITV’s community broadband internet service ITV Local, and currently operates a series of touring exhibitions visiting surfing communities around the UK.
Next dates are May1st – June 14th 2008 at Red House Museum in Christchurch, and June 28th – September 7th 2008 at the National Fishing Heritage Centre in Grimsby.
As well as appointing Gabe Davies as Patron, the museum’s steering committee has now been expanded to include World Champion kite-surfer Kirsty Jones, Surf Nation author Alex Wade, surf writer and journalist Alf Alderson, and Neil Watson from East Anglia who cut his teeth in surf publishing in the 1970s with seminal titles that included Ripple and Surf.

2008 tour - 'an art history of British surfing'

Watch a video about the surf history exhibition on ITV by clicking here.

Art and surfing have been inextricably linked for hundreds of years, and now a new exhibition looks at how both these elements combined to glide into British consciousness over the past few centuries.
From early sketches of surfers during the voyages of Captain James Cook in the 18th century and iconic hand sculpted wooden surfboards, to the flower power of the 1960s and garish fluorescent colours of the 1980s – paintings, posters, photography and film – ‘an art history of British surfing’ is a visual feast.
The act of riding a wave itself, is perhaps the purest form a surfing art; the surfer propelled by a pulse of energy from mother nature, painting lines on the ever changing canvas of the wave.
This exciting new show - 'an art history of British surfing' - has been put together by Brighton-based not for profit organisation, The Surfing Museum and is sponsored by the clothing company Oxbow and the Wavedreamer graphics team in North Devon.
“Surfing is part of everyday culture in the UK today, it’s imagery is the marketing person’s dream come true,“ said director of The Surfing Museum, Peter Robinson.
“It is something that has always captured the public’s imagination, probably because of its innovation, free flowing form and laid back lifestyle.”
Among the artefacts on display will be original British surfboards dating back almost a century featuring art and sculptural form. It will be complemented by an eclectic mix of memorabilia showing amazing artwork from the creative minds of surfers and those drawn to this ancient pastime.
Also on show will be stunning replicas of ancient Hawaiian surfboards hand carved by the Tom Pohaku Stone – a lecturer in Hawaiian culture and surfer of legendary status. The exhibition has already been seen by thousands of people at museums in Havant and Christchurch this year.

The National Fishing Heritage Centre in Grimsby, Lincolnshire - June 28 to September 7, 2008 (open 7 days)

We will also have a special 1960s surfing display at the Paddle Round the Pier charity weekend on Brighton beach on July 5 & 6, 2008 alongside our friends & sponsors Oxbow.

The museum also hopes to be in Bournemouth for a special event to mark the completion of their artirficial surfing reef - this will include a visit from the legendary Hawaiian waterman Tom Pohaku Stone who will be blessing the waves. Work is starting on Europe's first artiifical surfing reef next to Boscombe Pier at Bournemouth on England's south coast - it's hoped the first waves will be ridden on the new reef around Autumn 2008.

We are now in our fifth successful year of exhibitions all over the UK and brought British surfing history to more than 150,000 people.

Below is a beautiful 1975 surfboard from Tris of Cornwall featuring psychedelic art that will be on display in 'an art history of British surfing'.

New logo - and our VW split screen van is back!

Our friends at Prosign have reworked The Surfing Museum's logo into a great new look and signwritten our VW split screen van - she's looking beautiful! We now have some stickers featuring our new logo for sale in our online shop. (Photo by Bianca Robinson).

Oxbow sign 3 year sponsorship deal

We are stoked to announce that Oxbow UK are going to sponsor The British Surfing Museum for the next 3 years. This is fantastic news, and their generous donation has made all the difference to our unique project. Oxbow UK have now been our headline sponsor since 2004 - we're proud to be associated with them, and thank them deeply for their generous support.

Pottz joins surfing's hall of fame

Martin Potter is inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame in California on July 27. Pottz won the surfing world championships for Britain in 1989 & pioneered the aerial moves that are popular today. Congratulations! click for more

Surfing in Ireland - since 1949!

Check out The Silver Surfari for the latest revelations in the remarkable story of surfing on 'our' side of the Atlantic Ocean - an amazing tale of one man's quest to ride the waves on a wooden board he made from old tea chests! Go to www.irelandsurfari.com

Britons win two world kneeboarding titles in 2007

British Surfing Museum online shop - great new products for sale!

The British Surfing Museum's online shop has now been re-stocked and redesigned by our friends at Blue Cloud Media.

We have awesome surfing gifts for sale, including stunning art from the lens of surf photography pioneer Tom Blake and a great range of books about the history of both surfing and skateboarding - all profits go direct to the museum to help us keep our project going for future generations to enjoy.

British Surfing Association 40th Anniversary Exhibition

We visited Covent Garden in London, the International Surfing Centre in Newquay and the Old Sunday School in St Ives in autumn 2006 to help celebrate 40 years of the BSA. All of the artwork has been auctioned to raise money for the British junior team and the whole event has been a great success.

Aberdeen goes off!

Thousands of people from all over the world, including Hawaii, visited the first ever exhibtion of British surfing history in Scotland. The event at Aberdeen Maritime Museum turned up some great stories about the surf scene in Scotland and brought back some great memories for the locals. The event generated incredible publicity - even featuring on drive time radio in New Zealand!

We also took part in the Banff surf festival as part of the exhibition, judging the surfing competition and showing the classic film Stylemasters to the locals. During the day the director of The Surfing Museum Pete Robinson gave a surfing demonstration on a 1968 Harbour v-bottom on the small waves that popped up during the morning.

Tom Pohaku Stone carves new friendships in England

We've recently staged an historic two week surf festival featuring legendary Hawaiian waterman and cultural ambassador Tom Pohaku Stone. The event was based around Saltburn in the north east of England and staged with the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum.

During his stay Tom hand carved a replica of an ancient Hawaiian Olo surfboard and rode it next to Saltburn pier. The festival was looking at Cook's first contact with surfing and the links between Hawaii and Britain over the centuries. Tom very generously left three wooden boards behind for British surfers to see and use - including one donated to The Surfing Museum - thanks Tom!

Pictured is Tom on the left, with director of The Surfing Museum Pete Robinson next to Saltburn Pier.

The festival featured surf films, music and talks on surfing history - but the highlight was probably the public workshops where everyone could come along and help shape the solid wood surfboard designed to be similar to those seen by Captain Cook when he arrived in Hawaii in the late 1700s.

It was Tom Stone's first time wearing a full wetsuit and surfing in the cold water of the North Sea, but he loved it and said the waves were fantastic - everyone was stoked to see him in the line-up.

We were also proud to have the world's oldest surfboard on loan from the Bishop Museum in Honolulu for our exhibition of British surfing history at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum near Saltburn. The board was ridden by Hawaiian royalty and almost certainly dates back to the time when Cook first saw surfing in the Islands in 1778.

A big thanks to the Bishop Museum and Tom Pohaku Stone for their aloha.

Britain's oldest longboard?

Other new arrivals include original 1920s and 1940s surf/swim suits and an incredible book with a surfing picture on the cover that was written and published in Britain in 1908 - and a great Silva Yates longboard made in the Channel Islands in the 1960s.

Top Barbadian surfer drops in

On his way back to Barbados, former pro surfer Zed Layson visited The Surfing Museum's gallery in Brighton to soak up the atmosphere and go back in time. Zed has toured the world competing and was ranked in the top 20 amateurs - coming up against top surfers like Kelly Slater and taking part in the World Surfing Championships.

Help us find vintage surf shorts

We're trying to find a pair of 1960s Hang Ten surf shorts like those below - can you help?

The floral 'baggies' were made under licence in Newquay for the famous Californian brand Hang Ten, they were in almost perfect condition despite being almost 40 years old and were taken from our last Brighton exhibition. The label in the back says "Made by the Newquay Knitting Co".

If you've seen a pair like them we could replace them with, please get in touch.

Stars visit our shows

The actor Peter Gunn who starred in the classic British surf movie Blue Juice alongside Catherine Zeta Jones, Ewan McGregor and Sean Pertwee, dropped in to visit The Surfing Museum.

Peter played one of the central characters, Terry, who after an emotional battle (and painting himself silver & dancing at an all night beach party!) learned to surf and ended up living the dream. We're stoked to have his signature in our visitor's book. . now we just need to get him in the water again!

Three times world masters surfing champion Gary Elkerton also visited the British Surfing Museum. The Australian legend was in the resort on the south coast of England campaigning for cleaner seas with the environmental pressure group Surfers Against Sewage.

He spent an hour looking round the historic surfboards, and is pictured next to a classic early 1970s Weber Australia single fin.

Your old surfing gear needed!

We also need old wetsuits from all eras, plus films, photos, books, magazines, t-shorts, shorts, surf wax and general surfing memorabilia.

Donations are subject to a written agreement, so that you know they'll be properly looked after and kept for the public to see in the future.

Thanks!

A big thank you to the family of the late Viscount Ted Deerhurst for their support. Ted was Britain's first professional surfer back in the 1970s. The Surfing Museum exhibitions feature a special tribute to Ted - we're thankful to be able to keep his memory alive.

Oxbow UK have supported us since day one - we couldn't have got this far without them. Please support our sponsors by checking out their awesome range of clothing and equipment. Mahalo Oxbow!

Blue Cloud Media have worked hard to create our new secure online shop - thanks guys!The Surfing Museum continues to be supported by website designers Bionic Media, hosting from Fastnet, plus exhibition and poster design from Wavedreamer.

We really appreciate the support of everyone who has travelled to see our exhibitions. The comments in our visitor's book keep us going!

Other projects

Magazines - we have recently appeared in The Surfer's Path magazine with an article on Scottish surfing history, plus we supplied historic surfing images for stories in Cornwall's excellent Stranger lifestyle magazine and the 'adult' mag Knave who ran a big feature on surf history.

"The Royal" - a drama on ITV1 - we supplied copies of pre-1969 surfing posters and photos to decorate the bedroom of one of the main characters, who is a surfer. It's an offshoot of the popular Heartbeat series.

"Tribes - Surfing" - a mini documentary on CBBC channel - we provided unique early film footage of surfing in Britain and historic photographs and drawings. The producers used the history section of our website to write their script. The programme featured four young Newquay surfers and tells the story of how surfing began.

"Reel Life" - British Library DVD for schools and libraries - The Surfing Museum director Peter Robinson wrote the script and recorded the voiceover for the section all about British surfing history. We also supplied cine movie footage of surfing in Cornwall in the 1960s along with photos and scans of historic surfing books.

"200 Years of Surfing Literature" - a book published in Hawaii - we provided scans of British surf publications and Peter wrote reviews of them for this great book, which is the most comprehensive list of surf writing ever printed.We're happy to have helped students all over the UK with their research projects into British surfing history and culture, including some from the world famous surf technology degree course at Plymouth University.

We can supply vintage surfing memorabilia and cine movie footage for film productions or media use. We have a large archive of classic surfing photos and literature available for research or publication - but please remember we're all volunteers and so can't answer all requests.

Have a great year and may the waves be with you!

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