The Summer of 69 : Board Project

Last month, we shared The Summer of 66 film produced in 2021 by Randy Rarick and David Stanfield. The project featured classic noserider surfboards from 1966. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch the full-length film right here. Today’s feature hits the fast forward button by three years when the shortboard revolution was in full swing, forever changing wave-riding craft. The Summer of ‘69 was actually filmed first (2019) but it makes sense to watch the two films in reverse order (of production) to honor the chronology of surfboard history.

The intent of The Summer of 69 project was to bridge the gap between the longboard era and the arrival of shortboards in the early 1970s. The Aussie-influenced boards in this “gap year” were generally in the 7’6 to 8’ range with round tails and S-decks (with a few exceptions). The test pilots for The Summer of 69 included Leah Dawson and Willie Asprey. The surfers were asked to take all nine boards out and ride three waves each in order to provide feedback on performance. They paddled out at Sunset Point during prime (for the boards) 3-5’ sets. Boards ridden included the following models:

• Weber Ski Wide 7’2” (designed by Nat Young)

• Weber Ski Narrow 7’3” (designed by Nat Young)

• Bing Foil 6’10” (designed by Keith Paul)

• Bing Foil 7’2” (designed by Keith Paul)

• Gordon & Smith Magic Wide 6’10” (designed by Skip Frye)

• Gordon & Smith Magic 7’0” (designed by Skip Frye)

• Surfboards Hawaii Aquarius 7’4” (designed by Peter Johnson)

• Morey Pope Camel 6’8“ (designed by Bob McTavish)

• Design 1 7’0” (designed by Dennis Choate)

It’s a blast watching Dawson and Asprey ride the vintage boards above and compare notes against a blue-sky (and ocean) backdrop at Sunset Beach, Oahu. Enjoy the short film below and contact Randy Rarick if interested in having your own ‘69 board (or any other) restored.