Week 3 - Eli Bottom

While going through the week three readings, one thing in particular stood out in my mind. I noticed that throughout the entire time period of the readings covered, the surf community always heeded tradition while occasionally favoring showmanship and innovation. Surfing it seems has always been a showman’s sport- fundamentally it is difficult for more than one rider to catch the curl of a wave. There are two examples from the reading that support this notion, from the Warshaw articles.

The first example is that of Tom Blake and his lighter surf boards. Tom traveled to Hawaii after catching the surfing bug, and began competing in local paddle races. He soon invented a lighter board that weighed significantly less than the plank boards currently in use. This won him many races, but eventually alienated him from the locals. Additionally, his advanced fin design took about five years to catch on despite its monumental advantage over lighter boards. The showmanship Tom exhibited seemed to remove him from the community because he was so set apart from the other surfers.

The last example is of Bob Simmons and his postwar surfboard redesign. Bob’s innovation was a balsa core board wrapped in fiberglass. First known as girly boards, these lighter surfboards were first popular with female surfers due to their maneuverability and weight. The male population of surfers was discouraged from using such boards because their light weight required less skill to operate than a traditional board. The beach boys saw it as less manly and as a strictly woman’s board. As time went on, the boards gained popularity and then became standard over a period of five years. This shows that the culture was strongly rooted in tradition and was quick to dismiss any new innovations.