The Roots of Retro

It all began with the defeat of wild Australian surfer Matt Hoy by former world champ Tom Curren during the Rip Curl Pro Hossegor in 1993.

Matt Hoy was in the water and preparing for a big heat, when Californian Curren arrived, paddling down the beach on a short, fat, overbuoyant  fish that he had picked up at some surf shop along the way.

Curren went on to trounce Hoy, opening the eyes of the world to the fact that not all the best surfing had to be done on potato chips, on heavily rockered, pointy-nosed thrusters. It was a revelation for many.

Curren went further with the process, under the guiding eye of Rip Curl Search visionary, the inimitable Derek Hynd. The Search program found them at massive Bawa in 1994, a big barreling Sunset-like right-hander just across the drag from Nias. Never been seen before, Curren took to the 8-12 foot waves on a 5’7 Fireball Fish, and rode the giant waves with such aplomb that when The Search was released, the retro movement took another lurching step forward. All the while Derek was going through every single retro board he could find at his home from home, JBay.

The surfing world saw the very relevance of old boards, and suddenly there was a mad scramble to scour garages and junk piles to find the boards from yesteryear and restore them. Some of the older surfers, particularly surf industry honchos, had been buying and restoring old boards for some time now, but those older guys who still surfed, and had some vision, realized that there was a lot of fun to be had riding the boards as opposed to hanging them up as art work, and took them down, waxed them up and went surfing.

Before lone everyone had a retro board or two in their quiver, and boards from the 70’s and on were looked at with appreciation at the beach, and not frowned upon. So was the retro surf movement founded.

In Cape Town, Robbie McDonald from Vudu Surf https://www.facebook.com/VuduSurf was one of the guys collecting as many classic boards from the past as he could get his hands on. Robbie, along with Kai Linder, thought it would be cool to get a local initiative from Llandudno and Hout Bay, to get together and surf the boards and have a fun day on the beach, roughly disguised as a ‘retro contest.’

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The RVCA Rolling Retro surf event was born and proved itself popular from the outset. ‘We started the event in 2007,” said Linder. “Then we had a three year gap until 2011. Since then the event has been run every year.”

Apart from having fun on the beach, the event does have a serious side as well. “Once we had the event up and running we realized that it was also a great way to assist the LLandundo Lifesaving Club,” recalls Linder. “The event helped to raise funds for their annual trip to SA Champs and other events.”

The most amazing thing about the event has been, touch wood, that it has always been blessed with a beautiful day on the beach and fun waves. It’s like a perfect summer day has been ordered in advance. “The local community, from oldest to youngest, are there enjoying the beach, the waves and having a good time” reckons Linder. “In the past we have had windless conditions and warm water days that have seen heats being surfed in boardshorts and costumes.”

With a fun event, are there actually winners? Well, there is always the Best Surfer award. “The Best Surfer award has been won by Michael Grendon three times,” recalls Linder.” While the core locals like Ike, Zac, Ilan and the Eales brothers always impress.”

The dates for the event are Sunday 22 February, and should there by a problem with the surf the backup day is Sunday 1 March.

The event Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/events/772227866197463/?ref=br_tf

The event hashtag is #rvcarollingretro

Heart and Soul

At the heart and soul of the RVCA Rolling Retro event is the classic board collection. Owned by Robby McDonald from Vudu Surf, the board collection comes in at about 50 vintage surfboards, collected by Robby over the last decade or so. "Surfing has always been in my life and my family's life," said Robby. "I started collecting when I started Vudu Surf, and I had the repair side going and was able to restore and repair some old boards."

Robby is one of those guys who doesn't believe in hanging up vintage boards as works of art. "I think it's great to ride the boards, and to draw inspiration from different lines," reckons Robby. "Riding the vintage boards also helps when making new boards. Many of the modern designs are based on ideas of the past."

Robby has a diversified collection of boards, with a few amazing highlights. "I have two Whitmore Longboards as well as a 7'6 Whitmore Spoon," said Robby of his favourites. "I'm not sure of the age of the Spoon, but it is pretty rare. I also have an original Gerry Lopez Pipeline single fin, which is a rarity."

There is also a large collection of famous South African shapers' boards.

"I have boards made by Safari, Larmont, Larry Levine, Clive Barber, Tich Paul, Robbie Pointing, Kenny Freeland and Errol Hickman, to name a few," enthused Robby. "There are also a few other boards from some legendary shapers who have passed, like Jiggy, Marc Spowart and Jeff Hancock."

In the past the RVCA Rolling Retro event has been attended by World Tour surfer Jordy Smith, who professes to love the event. He won't be making it this year, as he prepares for the first event of the year on the World Tour at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast. "The Retro contest is a really cool event, where you can hang out, have a beer with your mates and watch the competitors battle it our retro-style," said Jordy of the tournament, adding, "I'm bummed I'm missing it this year. Hope everyone has a good time down there."

Some of the awards that are going to be awarded in his absence are the following:

Best Male Surfer
Best Female Surfer
Best Grom
Best Wipeout
Best Tube
Best Old School Wave
Best Nipper