Waxing philosophical
Reconnecting the surfer to the sacred craft of surfboard shaping
By Brett Leigh Dicks 05/14/2009
There is a certain irony to the fact that the more accessible something becomes, the further from the source it tends to venture. With amorphous shopping malls offering everything we could possibility need and more, and consuming the local landscape, our quest for convenience seemingly comes at the expense of community. This has become keenly apparent in the local surf community. With surfing megastores being more about fashion than about the craft, it was something that started to weigh heavily upon the conscience of San Diego surf aficionado Scott Bass.
“The way it used to be was that you would go into a surf shop and the shop was owned by a shaper and you would buy one of his boards, a bar or wax and maybe a new pair of trunks from the guy,” recalled Bass. “Now days there are all these mall-style surf shops that are really just clothing stores that also happen to carry surfboards. I remember going into shops when I was a kid, and the guy behind the counter was the guy who made your board.”
Having been surfing the waters of Southern California since he was a kid, Bass was so moved by the disconnection he was experiencing that he decided to create a conduit for the local surfboard makers and their surfing communities. The result is the Sacred Craft Consumer Surfboard Expo, which is now entering its third year. The Expo brings together a plethora of local surfboard designers and manufacturers and offers them the opportunity to tout their wares directly to those who do the riding. For Bass, it all made perfect sense. “We noticed that the people who were a vital part of both the community and culture were struggling. So I figured that these people needed to meet up with the surfers.”
The result is one of the largest grass-roots surf shops that you are ever likely to encounter. The success of the past two undertakings in San Diego convinced Bass that the time was right to venture a little further afield. Given both the hard-core surf culture and impressive surf legacy of the Ventura and Santa Barbara region, the Ventura Fairgrounds was the obvious choice. Not only does the Expo bring together the finest manufacturers that the 805 has to offer, but it also includes a program of seminars and shape-offs.
The seminars will cover a variety of topics such as the development of sustainable surfboards and a panel discussion on the life of Miki Dora — which includes Dora biographer David Rensin. A feature of this year’s installment will be a tribute to local shaper John Bradbury. Prior to his death from leukemia in 1999, Bradbury was one of the icons of local surfboard shaping, and this year’s shape-off will see five of his contemporaries replicating some of his classic designs.
“He was a legend up there,” said Bass. “He had a shaping bay in his back yard and had been shaping in the area since the 1960s. Back in the 1960s, if you were a surfer in the area, that’s who you went to for your boards. Even Al Merrick, when he went up to Santa Barbara in 1967, the first thing he did was hook up with John. His legacy in the area is untouchable.”
With almost 100 exhibitors incorporating everything from surfboard manufacturers to the local chapters of various surf-related foundations, an informative seminar series, plenty of hands-on shaping and design displays, and the tribute to Bradbury, are just part of what is on tap. The 2009 Sacred Craft Consumer Surfboard Expo promises to be the surfing event of the year. Perhaps more important, it will give local surfers the opportunity to shake the very hands that are destined to be shaping their next boards.
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