Unlike surf leashes today that go around the ankle, this rubber sucker would have been stuck to the nose of the surfboard, and the leash would have either been held or attached to the wrist.

The big wave movie night was organised and run by volunteers, led by Tom Sharpe and supported by the local surfing community. More than 100 people packed out Croyde Village Hall last night, to hear local surfing author Tim Kevan host a live chat with big wave expert Andrew Cotton and his shaper Julian Matthews of Gulf Stream talk about the movie, riding giant waves and what goes into shaping the special tow boards.

“This was our first event in North Devon and what a fantastic success! The whole evening was put together by one our volunteers, Tom Sharpe, and I can’t thank him enough, he did a truly wonderful job, ” said surf museum founder Pete Robinson.

“It was really heartwarming to see the incredible community spirit among surfers from all over North Devon – it was a great get-together, with lots of laughs and smiles. And of course it was celebrating the latest chapter in British surfing history with our own Cotty setting new standards in big wave riding on a global level.”

“The money raised through the event is vital. We need every penny we can get towards our design & build project and it is really tough for charities like us right now. We’re planning regular film, music and cultural events here in North Devon next year to raise money for the Museum of British Surfing charity, and we’ll be using some of that money to provide new opportunities for young people in the Braunton area.”

The main film shown was the ‘Zon North Canyon Show’, a 3-year documentary project featuring Andrew Cotton, Al Mennie and Garrett MacNamara riding massive swells that break off the beach at Nazaré in Portugal. The climax of the evening was seeing Cotty towing Hawaiian Garrett MacNamara into what’s believed to be the biggest wave ever ridden at 90 feet a couple of weeks ago.

Event sponsors included; Croyde Deckchair Cinema, Tiki, Saltrock, Analog, Gulf Stream, St Austell Brewery, King’s Arms Georgeham, Corduroy Lines and Wavedreamer

Many thanks to surf photographer Rob Tibbles for providing the main photos of the film night.

She lived in England in 1892 as part of her education, spending a considerable amount of time in Brighton and also visiting the Channel Islands. Did she surf while living in the UK? We may never know, but research is continuing.

Despite her striking appearance and Hawaiian Royal heritage (she was next in line for the throne, before the USA annexed the Islands), her visit to Britain was kept relatively low key.

Her tutor in Brighton Mrs Rooke is quoted as saying “she loved being on the water again”, and it is known that she loved living by the sea, giving her renewed vigour. When she arrived she was in the habit of having a daily “sea bath”. At the time the resort on the English Channel was the sea bathing capital of Britain, and there’s some evidence that bodysurfing took place there in the 19th century using ‘mits’ made of wood & leather.

Two decades earlier in 1876, noted English sportsman and traveller John Boddam-Whetham had wrote about surfing in his book ‘Pearls of the Pacific’, “I do not see why this attractive sport should not be introduced into England in suitable localities – Brighton, for instance.” Again, further research is needed to see if he acted on his words.

The same year, Yorkshire born writer Isabella Bird said, “It really is a most exciting pastime, and in a rough sea requires immense nerve. The surfboard is a tough plank shaped like a coffin lid, about two feet broad, and from six to nine feet long, well oiled and cared for.”

In the early 1900s in Hawaiian surfer Knute Cottrell, founder of the Hui Nalu surf club with Duke Kahanamoku, said;  “She was an expert surfrider around 1895-99. She rode a long olo board made of wili wili and was the last of the old school at Waikiki.” She also had a koa wood alaia surfboard which still survives at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu – a faithful replica has been made for the Museum of British Surfing collection by our friend Tom Pohaku Stone.

Victoria was the daughter of Edinburgh financier Archie Cleghorn, who married Princess Mirian Likelike (sister to the last two ruling Monarchs of Hawaii).

Deeply proud of her Scottish heritage, she loved her time in Europe and had become great friends with famed author Robert Louis Stevenson – but she longed to return to Hawaii to be Queen of her people. Ill health laid Ka’iulani to an untimely rest at age 23 in 1899.

The remarkable photo with this post was taken by C.P. Trevelyan at Waikiki in 1898 and shows the young Princess (right) sitting in an outrigger canoe wearing a sash of maile vine – seated left is Beatrice Webb, founder the London School of Economics. At the present time it is the only known photo of Victoria on a beach taking part in ocean sports. The photo was discovered by friend of the Museum of British Surfing and Ka’iulani expert Mindi Reid.

Photo courtesy Trevelyan Family Trustees.

See also Alfred Fowler & a Royal surfboard – it is likely that the Princess & Fowler knew each other.

The board was donated along with other items of Oceanian material by Alfred Fowler in 1893, it is inscribed “surf swimming board given to the donor (Fowler) by the King of Hawaii” – this was King David Kalakaua who made the gift two years earlier in 1891.

It is a 5′ 11″ long ‘Paipo’ board, tapering from 13″ behind its rounded nose to 11″ towards it tail, so it is believed it would have been used for prone surfing or by children in the waves closer to shore.

It is described as; “a long black wooden board with a rounded leading edge, tapering slightly along length to a straight-edged end. Nearly consistent depth across board. Regular, rectangular holes cut in along the two long sides, ranging from 0.5 to 1cm from the edge. One hole rounded, as if to fit a screw.”

The wood is possibly koa stained with kukui nut oil, and was originally part of the Christy Collection. The shape is actually quite complex, with a concave deck and convex bottom – not just a flat plank.

There were strong links between Hawaii and Britain throughout the 1800s, with several members of the Hawaiian Royal family coming to England to further their education (including several known surfers).

Fowler worked in the steam engine business supplying machinery to the sugar cane industry and travelled extensively. He married Eva Neumann, daughter of the Hawaiian Attorney General (sugar ‘baron’). They moved back to England in the early 1900s and it’s believed lived in Westward Ho! in North Devon for a time.

Further research is currently underway into this intriguing surfboard, its owner and history.

See also The Island Rose – it is likely Fowler would have known the Hawaiian-Scottish surfer Princess Victoria Ka’iulani.

Photo copyright: Trustees of the British Museum

The ‘Zon North Canyon Show’ focuses on massive swells that break off the beach at Nazaré in Portugal – where “Cotty” as he’s known, towed Hawaiian Garrett MacNamara into what’s believed to be the biggest wave ever ridden at 90 feet a couple of weeks ago.

The surf spot is unique because massive swells launch out of a deep water canyon onto a sand bottom beach, not a reef like many of the world’s other big wave breaks like Waimea in Hawaii and Teahupo’o in Tahiti which are on reefs. Plus this unique project is backed by the local Nazaré government who are using the film to promote their area worldwide as a watersports destination.

The film night is being organised by local surfer Tom Sharpe, a North Devon based designer and illustrator; “I wanted to do something to help raise funds for the Museum of British Surfing charity, because it is bringing something really important and special to our local area.”

“When Cotty  – who’s from Croyde – hit the headlines around the world by being in the thick of this incredible story, I thought it was the perfect combination of an exciting unique film, giant dangerous waves and local interest.”

Tom has pulled off a global scoop getting the film for a UK preview, making local and international history.

There will also be a live Q & A with Andrew Cotton before the film screening, a chance to see his big wave board which was made in Woolacombe by Gulf Stream, and some boards from the Museum of British Surfing collection.

The fundraising night will also feature a raffle, with prizes being donated by surfing businesses.

100 tickets are now on sale through the Gulf Stream surf shop in Caen Street, Braunton and Redwood surf shop in Croyde (advance tickets only), with the first 32 moviegoers getting comfy deckchairs! If you can’t make it to the shop, please call Tom direct on 07780 713282

Prices are £5 for adults and £3.50 for under-16s including a free cup of winter vegetable soup & a roll provided by the King’s Arms at Georgeham, with all proceeds from the night going to charity.

Doors open at 7.30pm on Thursday December 15^th and there is a licensed bar at Croyde Village Hall.

The Museum of British Surfing is a Registered Charity (1131433) and is opening in Braunton in April 2012.

Sponsors include; Croyde Deckchair Cinema, Tiki, Saltrock, Analog, Gulf Stream, St Austell Brewery

Thanks to everyone who has provided their generous support. Let’s party!

If you are a commercial organisation, or professional individual, using our research and material for profit, please contact us for licensing and usage fees for images, video and text.

We make every effort to ensure the information on our website is accurate, but if you spot something wrong or can add new information please get in touch.

Work is now underway on the building & displays, staff and volunteers are being recruited – get in touch if you want to be involved.

The opening exhibition for our first year is going to be ‘The art of surf’ – a vibrant display of surfing art from the first sketches made by Captain James Cook’s crew more than 200 years ago, stunning surfboards and work from contemporary artists.

100 people came to Saunton on Sunday and picked up almost 400kg of marine litter and other rubbish in just 2 hours – the day before 55 volunteers joined us a Woolacombe and collected 96kg. Among the ‘finds’ – a TV set, car bumper and a set of fisherman’s oilskins! 310 volunteer hours were completed over the two days.

On a more serious note there are thousands, if not millions of mermaid’s tears on our beaches. This isn’t anything to do romantic ancient sea legends, they are tiny round plastic and polystyrene pellets used by the plastics industry as a raw material that ‘find their way’ into watercourses and into the sea.  They’re killing our marine life and turning the tide line into a multi-coloured, toxic slick.

We are partnering SAS in their campaign to turn the tide against marine litter, and we’re supported in our efforts by those lovely people at the North Devon Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Museum of British Surfing is creating a special local surfing & environment section funded by the North Devon Aonb & Leader 4, and supported by SAS, at its exhibition venue opening in Braunton next April. It will explain why the North Devon coast became a surfing hub, and highlight issues such as marine litter that affect our coastline.

Thanks again to all of the volunteers who freely gave of their time to help us keep our beaches clean – you’re wonderful!

You can catch up with our latest work on Facebook.

The next beach cleans in the North Devon Series are:

Westward Ho! – 26th November 11am – 1pm

Woody Bay – 27th November – 10am – Midday

Lynmouth – 27th November – 2pm – 4pm

If you’re attending please email dom@sas.org.uk or call 01872 555 953

This photo, taken and donated by Tony Cope, shows Rod surfing his famous Britannia model Bilbo in August 1966 in France during the filming of Paul Witzig’s film ‘The Hot Generation’.

Rod is the sport’s only ‘quad national’ champion; he won his first major title at 16 in the 1963 juniors division of the Australian Invitational Surfing Championships; in 1964 he won the juniors in the USA and competed for the American team in the 1965 World Surfing Championships in Peru; then he took the inaugural Great Britain National Championships in Jersey, and in 1966 came 5th in the World Championships in California representing the UK; two years later Rod had parted company with his main sponsor Bilbo, and went on to win the 1968 Irish National Championships – and then surfed for Ireland in that year’s World Championships in Puerto Rico!

In 1970 he represented Great Britain again in the World Championships in Australia, but dropped out of competitive surfing not long after finishing third in the 1971 Makaha International. A part of the British Amateur Team he was eliminated in the early rounds of the 1990 World Contest in Japan, having returned briefly to competition during the ‘longboard revival’ era of the late 1980s.

British newspapers in the 1960s mainly describe Sumpter as ‘the Australian’, even though he was born in the UK and would end up living here. In 1966 International Surfing magazine named him as Britain’s top surfer in its Hall of Fame Awards.

Rod Sumpter made seven surfing films between 1967 and 1979, and he also appeared in The Endless Summer and The Hot Generation. He took over the helm at British Surfer, the UK’s first domestic surf magazine published in 1969 and lasting just six issues.

We are calling for community beach clean volunteers to help protect some of North Devon’s finest beaches and surf spots. Everyone is welcome so we look forward to seeing SAS members, supporters, environmentalists, families, local surfing and watersports clubs joining us – the whole local beach-loving community in fact!

“It’s amazing to see a real concentrated beach clean campaign right here in North Devon. We have some of the country’s best surf spots situated on one of the most beautiful stretches of coastlines in the world, and this will be a great opportunity to pull together and make a positive impact on the ever growing marine litter problem,” said Mikey Corker, SAS North Devon rep.

As most of SAS supporters will already be aware, the amount of marine litter found on UK beaches has almost doubled in the last fifteen years, with at least 1 piece being found on average every 30cm of sand. Since 1994, plastic items washing up on our shores have increased by 135%. Plastic debris can take hundreds of years to break down and can be lethal to marine wildlife. The power is in our hands to make a difference and we hope to see hundreds of volunteers making a positive difference to the North Devon coast this November.

Local SAS Rep Mikey Corker will be helping lead the assault on unwanted beach litter, along with a crew from the Museum of British Surfing, which is based at the heart of the North Devon surfing community in Braunton.

“We stand shoulder to shoulder with SAS in this vital campaign to highlight the issue of marine litter that blights our coast. I hope you’ll join us down on our stunning beaches in North Devon this month to help clean them up, and also learn more about how this problem can be tackled by us all in our everyday lives,” said surf museum founder, Pete Robinson.

The Museum of British Surfing is creating a special local surfing & environment section funded by the North Devon Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty & Leader 4, and supported by SAS, at its exhibition venue opening in Braunton next April. It will explain why the North Devon coast became a surfing hub, and highlight issues such as marine litter that affect our coastline.

The North Devon beach clean series is being run by SAS in partnership with The Crown Estate.

North Devon Beach Clean Series

Woolacombe – 12th November 11am – 1pm

Saunton Sands – 13th November 11am – 1pm

Westward Ho! – 26th November 11am – 1pm

Woody Bay – 27th November – 10am – Midday

Lynmouth – 27th November – 2pm – 4pm

If you’re attending please email dom@sas.org.uk or call 01872 555 953

Please note:

• SAS will be conducting a health & safety briefing for all volunteers before each event
• Volunteers under 16 must be accompanied by an adult
• We ask all volunteers to come dressed in appropriate clothing, including footwear, for the weather on the day of their beach clean.
• Make sure you protect yourself from the sun, rain or wind!