When I was young I had a fever to see good surfing done by all the greats I had read about in Magazines, I knew the names and faces and I was desperate to see what they could do in real life in the type of surf I had to put up with.
Enter the Coke surfabout which was the premier contest of the day and was generally held on the northern beaches of Sydney, the year was 77 and Iconvinced my mother that it would be a great day if she took me over to Narrabeen for the day and see obliged,
Now in those days the move that was considered close to impossible to perform was the 360 and there was big money on offer if you did one in the contest and to my knowledge it was never won by anyone. Unfortunately the contest was plagued by very small waves but i was just stoked to see the heros of the day make the most of the conditions.
Now off to the side of the contest area were a few hot riders practicing and one of them was Hawaii’s Lynne Boyer who was the hot up and comer and giving the perrenial Margo Oberg a run for her money. I recognized her style and it was interesting to watch her low centre of gravity style which was the choice among the Hawaiian surfers who rode small town surf and were influenced by Bertleman and Apia and rode stingers with single fins placed forward in the box.
Anyway there she is putting on a progressive display and then bang just like that she does a 360 now i had never seen a 360 done before and I sure as hell wasn’t expecting to see the first one done by a lady. But there it is and that’s how it happened. Lynne did the move and I was dumbfounded, so that’s it keep your eyes open and you can see some amazing thing happen, Lynne rips.
I just saw this picture in an old magazine and it triggered a memory in me, I thought i would jot it down before it went away.
lyttlestreet 
I remember those days . . . and all those characters suddenly 3D and not much bigger than me.
She did rip!
I also was struck by the part about the single fins. One day we got up the courage to talk to Mark Lydell and he pointed his fin out to us. Some of the fins were cut down and he also cut out the front section of the base of the fin that fits in the box so he could move the fin a few centimeters forward of the top of the fin box itself. So when we went home…down came the tip of the fin and out came the bottom of the base of the fin.
Had to be loose on the south shore!
Yeah that is a good story used to love watching all the South shore guys surf when I was young fins way up in the box was the way to go. Buttons, Larry, Mark, Loui and Dane. That was when dark Hawaiians ruled the hot dogging game, spontanious and imaginative, summer issues of surfer magazine were what we hung out to see. That has all gone never see Kaisers or Al Mo in the mags anymore and the only Hawaiians you see are White guys like Jamie and Jon Jon. Surfing media has turned surfing into a white mans sport. Aint correct.
That is so funny you say that because I always laughed when you look at all the white kids who ruled the north shore (even the Irons brothers for example) and the other kids such as Dustin Cuzion have slipped off into obscurity.
As a kid though, I loved the guys you spoke of. And Bird Mahelona and Johnny Boy Gomes. Louie Ferraria and Vince Klyne were really cool to us too out at Kaisers. So glad I grew up there.
Your very fortunate to have been able to grow up in one of the hotbebeds of surfing and watch all those great surfers do there thing on a regular basis.Must have been a great time for a young surfer to witness.
Growing up, I really had a life that could be a book. I don’t even tell people because it would sound like I was a demented liar. So, I am very lucky.
My next few posts are going to tell some of my life in a series of short snippets. Mainly for my son to read and maybe it will help him make better decisions. Also so he can get a sense of where I came from.
But we are in the present! And as you get a twinge of envy of my past…I get a twinge of envy about your “now”. Trips to Bali and lots of surfing in your home breaks. You did something right in your life to set yourself up for this!
It is the weekend and I am going to work and not surf. I am sure you will. So catch one for a poor yank on the other side of the world!
Look forward to reading about your earlier life in the Islands I am sure it was no Sunday school picnic, Hawaii isnt that kind of place. I made alot of choices to stay close to the ocean, they definitely weren’t great financial ones but I wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible. I grew up in the 70s in a city and I could see all the shit that was happening all around me and it scared the hell out me and at 18 i packed up my car and ran away to the country. I wanted to live clean and ride empty waves, not much money but good times trying to make it.
I am from Ewa Beach which is on the notorious westside of Oahu. Which makes people’s face pucker up when I tell them that as if they bit into a lemon.
But growing up there, it is different. In grade school, we were all little kids so I was immersed in the culture. Middle School I was having some issues due to my geekiness but a nerd has troubles any place. By the beginning of High School, I was surfing and was given a lot of passes as any decent surfing grom will get. I also grew up with some kids whom were on their way to trouble so they watched out for me. In retrospect, this did not mold me to become a young, responsible kid. Thankfully I had my parents in the background trying to keep me in line!
I know what you mean by moving out of the city. It is a big sacrifice but sometimes sacrifices pay off in the long run.
Have a good week and will be looking forward to your next post!
I will add to my pictures soon. I have some pics with me and Reno, Rabbit, P.T., etc.