The history of the sport of surfing has seen many dramatic changes. Duke Kahanamoku from Hawaii, considered “the father of modern surfing,” first popularized the sport of wave riding back in 1912 with a visit to the California coast. On his way to the Stockholm Olympics, where he became a gold medal champion swimmer, the Duke rode a finless plank of wood that he carved himself at Corona del Mar and fascinated those who turned out to watch. Later that same year, he repeated his performance in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in 1915, the Duke wowed Australians with his skill in the surf during a trip down under. The swell of surfing’s popularity has grown ever since then into the worldwide multi-billion-dollar sporting lifestyle it is today.
Celebrating this history, the Maritime Museum of San Diego, in partnership with the California Surf Museum in Oceanside, is presenting “Taming the Pacific Swell “” The Evolution of Surfing” at the floating maritime museum onboard the ferryboat “Berkeley,” located at 1492 North Harbor Drive along the Embarcadero near the Star of India ship. The exhibit recently had a grand opening event on March 11 and will be open through January 2007. State Sen. Bill Morrow did the ribbon cutting, which featured Polynesian dancing, live music, surf film showings and more festive fun.
The new exhibit, located on the lower level of the vintage 1898 steam ferryboat, captures many significant periods in surfing history, from the 19th-century Hawaiian Olo wooden boards, ridden by Hawaiian royalty, to the contemporary high-tech short board designs. Many historically significant surfboards are displayed, along with photos and other surf culture items ranging from board-building tools, surf wax, antique ukuleles and much more. Even an extremely rare 11-foot wooden surfboard that belonged to Duke Kahanamoku himself is on display. The 1922-era board, found on Catalina, was originally given to Al Thompson as a gift from the legendary Duke.
San Diego, which boasts a rich and colorful surfing history, is well-represented at the exhibit, which includes displays on Charlie Wright and Fay Baird Fraser, considered the first local surfers in the early 1920s. Local area talent stretching through the decades includes John Elwell, Skip Frye, Linda Benson and Chris O’Rourke, who are represented along with other lesser known but no less fascinating individuals. Even Rocky, the famous surfing dog from Ocean Beach, is included!
The California Surf Museum, located at 223 North Coast Highway in Oceanside and now in its 10th year, supplied much of the display items along with private parties and board collectors.
What makes the exhibit especially interesting is that many of the modern-era surfing pioneers are still with us today. Hobie Alter, one of the first surfboard manufacturers to switch from balsa wood construction to polyurethane foam in the 1950s, still has a thriving board business to this day. Greg Noll and Mickey Munoz, two of the original big wave riders at Waimea Bay, Hawaii, back in 1957, are still very active in the surfing industry. Rabbit Kekai, one of the early Hawaiian beach boys, is still regularly styling out in the water well into his 80s.
One well-known surfing legend and all-around waterman, Mike Doyle, who has been surfing since 1954, was on hand at the opening of “Taming the Pacific Swell.” He enjoyed the unique aspect of having an exhibit on a floating ship. “It’s an interesting mix of surfing and boats which I usually don’t see going together. With the Berkeley’s pictures of old steamships, it reminds me of old Hawaii, when early surfers went over on steamships to the islands. It all has a very nice flavor of antiquity. They did a great job incorporating the surfing exhibit.”
The Maritime Museum of San Diego is open every day 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information about “Taming the Pacific Swell “” The Evolution of Surfing,” call 619-234-9153 or log on to www.sdmaritime.com.