Vintage Surfboard Meet 2019 - Newquay UK

So, every sport and interest has its nerd right? Those folks who hoard memorabilia. They can bore you to tears discussing the in’s and out’s of their chosen subject and drool over a mouldy piece of old tat, but what about surfing? Does it too, have its anoraks? Well, yes it does and June 16th sees their annual get-together in Newquay, Cornwall.

Every fathers day (go on, use it as an excuse with the family to pop along) sees the Vintage Surfboard Collectors(VSBC) UK group gather upon the grassy cliff top of Lusty Glaze beach. Everyone present is there to either show off, buy, sell or swap vintage surfboards, surf magazines and all kinds of rare and long forgotten bits of surfing history.

The owner of the Vintage Surfboard Collector UK blog and the brainchild of this event is Alasdair Lindsay. The event is now in its ninth year and sees folks from as far away as France making the pilgrimage to Cornwall with their rare and interesting boards. To qualify as being classed as vintage, it has to be from the pre FSC era, so 1991 or before, although a few iconic boards from more recent years are allowed if of a certain interest.

Over the years there have been some rare boards discovered under caravans, during pub car park dealings over a pint and car boot sales that then duly appear at the meet. We have seen everything from 1950’s redwood planks, 60’s early UK Bickers through to the space age 70’s with Phil Jay’s, Aipa Stings, a whole quiver of artwork Space Gypsys and Tiki’s. Then onto the ’80s and ’90s with rare pro boards from Carwyn Williams, Mark Richards and McCoy, to name just a few.

The knowledge the VSBC UK guys have is immense. They often research and discover more info on their boards than the folks who were actually riding them back in the day.

So if you fancy looking down the stringer of a vintage Jerry Lopez Bolt which has been ridden in twenty-five foot Pipeline or putting a nice AIPA Sting under your arm and want to pick up a bargain board to start your own collection, pack your Webber surfboards wind-cheater and head over to the meet. With close on eight hundred boards on display in the past years, there is plenty to ogle over and dream of the head days of Crystal Voyager with an original Greenough Spoon at your feet.

Entry is free. You are welcome to display your own boards or bring dad’s old single fin along for the gang to see, just pay for parking and enjoy the day.

Hope to see you there.