Nightmare with no pants on.

I was stoked to attend the Sacred Craft show at Del Mar fairground in the guise of an expert vintage surfboard appraiser. I spent the week prior studying the latest auction results from eBay for vintage surfboards, checking asking prices on craiglist and reviewing the final bids from Randy Rarick's Hawaiian Vintage Surf auction. I re-read Nat Young's and Matt Wassaw's History of Surfing books and I studied the 25th anniversary edition of Surfing that the Cosmic Dog had sent me. I felt I was pretty well prepared to shed some light on the current values of any board made between 1975 and 1985 in addition to any board made in Australia, period. I was confident my narrow but deep collection of knowledge would be of some value to my fellow appraisers.

Sam & Bird at work

Oh how wrong I was....
Bird Hoffman and Sam George were AMAZING. Enthusiastically, patiently and accurately reviewing the first round of arrivals, all 60's so-cal long boards. Not my area of expertise, but I told my self not to worry, let the big boys handle it, my time would come. More long board, more Californian classics followed. I was floundering.
Bird got called away and Sam was busy else where and a wave, 10 deep of long board crashed down upon me, filling up the waiting to be appraised racks. I was amazed at how many beautiful old boards there were out there and stoked to see them being loved and appreciated. But I was wayyyy out of my depth.

Oh no....

Do you know that nightmare you have where your at school and it's the day of your exams and somehow you didn't know and so you had forgotten to study and then you look down and you've got no pants on?
Well that is how I felt.
Finally some relief, a young guy pulls out a beautiful Bronzed Aussie twin fin given to him by his high school teacher. He knows nothing at all of the history of the board. The crowd gathers around. It's my time to shine. I go on to tell him that despite the Australian flags, this is in fact a US made board, judging by the refined MR set up of the single fly swallow tail is was shaped in 81 or 82. The immaculate set of matching star fins are worth $150 on eBay right now and on I went about the Bronzed Aussies, Ian, Pete, Mark, Cheyne and their one piece jumpsuits. I was on a roll and flying high.

Soon Sam and Bird reappeared and Scott Bass kicked in with his expertise and took over the show. It was a fantastic day, but I don't think I should be invited back till people start showing up for appraisals with with flouro sprayed quads, twin fins and early 80's thrusters.

My old friends, Geoff, Larry and Laird

A 80's Rusty asymmetric tail twin fin

A low-rider....

Will this keep my beer cold

Live shaping in the shaping bay

The first appraisal board of the day. a 10'6" Skip Frye shaped G&S

Number 2, a pigment coat Dewey Webber with unique speed fin

Another rare Skip Frye shaped G&S. 

A Herbie Fletcher shaped single fin

Like archaeologists, looking for markings on the stringer with flash light and magnifying glass

Dale Velzy and Dewey Webber model Fenders

You never know whats going to come out of the bag

A vintage ukulele signed by every uke playing famous surfer of the 60's  including Greg Noll, Dewey Webber and Dick Dale.

A pop out Ole made from boating fibre glass with a fake inlaid stringer

Andy's Triple Crown Haleiwa winning board

A 11' Jeff Clark shaped and glassed Maverick's gun.

This guy brought in a nice 70's single fin. We were looking on the stringer for details and this old guy pipes up 'I wrote that'. Sprayed and glassed this actual board in 1975, 36 years ago.

An interesting mail order kit build Greenough inspired spoon