I was riding a little yellow zippy board in the little pool at bondi icebergs.I was 6 years old and just able to swim.

Nine years old.
Wavetight plastic fantastic
Cheers
Sparx

Jeez mate
You're redifining the term old fart. Perhaps we should have divisions, like, old fart, crusty old curmudgeon, living ledgend, happy to be alive and taking one day at a time!
Cheers
Sparx

Was only a month old at the start of 69.

I was riding a home made skateboard around the local shopping center,made from chipboard and a cut up roller skate.

Chipboard found under the house,rolla skate found in big sisters bedroom,paint canary yellow (brother owned a yellow cortina )black gt stripes ( dads tool box ) all was going well until the fat guy who owned the local Chinese takaway got sick of me and pushed my off and stood and snapped my board. age 7

Tragically I was 11 years old and was riding the pride of my life a 7'2" George Rice Pintail (I saved up for twelve months!!) after graduating from My Uncle's 8'6" Klemm Bell "Plastic Machine". A rip off of the board that Nat Young won his world Championship on. The Board that I learned how to stand up on on in the summer of 1966 however was my uncle's 10'6" Barry Bennet. It took three of us to carry it to the water at Ocean Grove. We even used to surf in winter (not often I'll grant you), wearing Footy jumpers. How I'm still alive is a miracle!!!

Oh yeah, and Wayne Lynch Rules!!!!!!!!!!

My folks bought our first beach shack at Phillip Is in 1961.

1969, I was 7 yrs old and like Sparxy, had a purple Wavetight. Loved it!

We also had a beautiful wooden paddleboard!! Hollow, varnished, big boxy rails made by.




We had a matching timber paddle and yes......we used to stand up on it and paddle it SUP style.

My old man also built this classic glass-bottomed board/dinghy that we spearfished from.

Ahhh, those were the days.

This is my first board. A foamy circa 1966.


This is my older brother on a board my dad made.
Which funnily is similar in shape and colour to the board I ride now, the Fanatic Fly Race.


Early seventies I moved up to a Wavetight.
I remember the day it flew off the roof of the car on the way to Inverloch.
Only had a few superficial scratches.

Maaaaaate, great shot! What a legend sharkie was. Isn't Cathedral a secret anymore?? You weren't mates with Moose, Wicky and that crew by any chance?(idols of mine!)

ockanui said...


Lorne, summer 69/70 lots of MGB's and kombi's, music blaring on the beach via the surf club radio/soundsystem, Sharkie the local beach old bloke spraying coconut oil and renting out black rubber surfo's, us grommets chatting up chicks or offering 20 cents each for petrol to the older local surfers with drivers licences so we could get a lift down the coast for a surf, this is a photo of yours truly at Cathedral circa 69/70, a mate just sent it a few months ago, a blast from the past, not like these days where there would be lots of digital photos posted on facebook!.
your right RPS they were pretty cool days

Great photograph as they would say back in the day,really enjoyed your post

rps said...

My folks bought our first beach shack at Phillip Is in 1961.

1969, I was 7 yrs old and like Sparxy, had a purple Wavetight. Loved it!

We also had a beautiful wooden paddleboard!! Hollow, varnished, big boxy rails made by.




We had a matching timber paddle and yes......we used to stand up on it and paddle it SUP style.

My old man also built this classic glass-bottomed board/dinghy that we spearfished from.

Ahhh, those were the days.

So you were 30 years ahead of Laird and Dave.

G'day Breezes
This was my dads board he scored it for $2.00 dollars in the early 60's it's a 1959 model shaped By Gordon Woods. I started riding it around 1969 when I was 8yo I could HANG TEN on this board in my teenage years when I was 10 stone dripping wet I can still remember this 2 foot right hand bank into the shark tower hanging ten at Red Head beach in Newcastle I will sell this board for 10 thousand dollars. Its 52 years old it would look good in a museum!



I ride this 1959 Model 9'6'' Gordon Woods I purchased in 1984 for $50 dollars I offered him $20 dollars (too funny) I make an effort to ride this board one day a year! (Reminisce) My favourite manoeuvrer is the SOUL ARCH as I enjoy hanging ten that much I always nose dive because I alway forget to run back in a hurry.

A malvern star dragster with full height sissy bar banana seat and dual front carrier headlights with a three speed centre shift derailer gears. Got my first home shaped 7"4 single in around 1974

Piros said...

towball said...

Nothings changed then Rob think about it lol

LOL

Mac we used plywood decks with a set of Nipper Gayrads on the front and steel roller skate wheels on the back , sparks used to fly out the back as we took the final turn at Kings Carpark in Surfers.

Oh yeah Robbie, we used to hit Kings as well with our home made skateboards in the day. Schweet memories.......

I was thirteen going to Whitebridge high in the same class as Col Smith.
I was riding a Narm Surfoplane at Merewether Beach on the weekends after swimming club.The family car was a 1962 beetle in which our family of 5 went to
the Gold Coast for holidays every september.