Summary of trip from Allan Byrne.
I recently attended the Sacred Craft Exhibition in Southern California. It is a Trade Show specifically for Surfboard Manufacturers – No clothes, No accessories, but there was a booth dedicated to the tools of the trade. There were also two Glass Walled shaping rooms which had continuing shaping displays by chosen shapers. The shows theme was a tribute to Bill Caster a shaper from the late 60’s who was hugely influential in surfboard manufacture in Southern California. He died in the early 80’s from cancer.
I was very fortunate in meeting with Bill in late 1969 where he was the shaper at Challenger Surfboards. I was only 1 year into shaping and fairly unskilled. He took me under his wing and taught me how to use the planner and was a major design influence for me.
At the Sacred Craft shaping rooms, the six channel shapers were given 1.5 hours to replicate on of Bill’s mid 70’s boards. A 6’10” single fin 4 channel. Each board was judged and $1,000 was given to the winner. The interest that this generated amongst the public as of great comfort to us in the Trade as it showed me that people are still intrigued by the Art that is Surfboard Creation.
Thee would have been 2-4 thousand people each day checking out about 800 exhibitions. Ranging from Bing Copeland and Greg Noll, to Stu Kenson and me. Old and not so old (sorry Stu).
After 5 years if misinformation and the demise of Clark Foam, it was encouraging to see the resurgence of urethane foam and the older ways of manufacturing. It may surprise some people but the way we make boards (ie Shaping by Hand - glassing and sanding) is still the best way to produce Hi-Performance Equipment. Thank God for that.
America has good foam again and the true Artisans are feeling comfortable that their years of experience and skill are being appreciated. It was clear that there is NO place in our way of life to shift manufacturing to Asia, to non-skilled, non-surfing workers. That the Brotherhood of Surfing knows we sit on something more special than selling out for profit. Bring it on !!!
Thanks to the organisers of Sacred Craft for giving us a platform to tour our skills and wares and giving us recognition.
AB !!!