Countywide : Surfboards of Fame, Mystery on Exhibit

Famous surfboards, mystery surfboards and nostalgic surfboards will be unveiled today as part of a new exhibit at the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach.

The opening coincides with the museum’s third anniversary at its temporary site, 411 Olive St. Plans are to one day build a permanent museum at the base of the Huntington Beach Pier.

The celebration, which will also feature entertainment by the Boardwalkers, a surf music group, will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the corner of 5th and Olive streets. The museum opens at noon.

“Boards of Distinction” is the exhibit’s theme and features a collection of long boards that are interesting in some way, shape or form, said Griff Snyder, museum curator.

“Some people like them because of the art, the style or the workmanship as (surfboards) progress through time,” said Ann Beasley, one of the museum’s founders and its executive director.

Beasley said each board has a story of its own.

The exhibit includes the “Batman board,” used in the original Batman movie released in 1966. It bears a picture of the caped hero and a single fin that resembles a bat wing. Also featured is the “Moondoggie board” that was once owned by artist Al (Billy) Bengston, who decorated it with abstract art.

Beasley said the original “Bing board,” made in the early ‘60s and known as the “Back-of-the-Cashier,” will also be on display. She said the bright orange board with wood trim was so named because Bing, the maker, hung the board on the wall behind the cash register at his Hermosa Beach surf shop.

“It was a show board,” she said.

Another board on display is the “Bear Balsa Big Gun,” used to surf big waves. It was made for the 1978 surf movie, “Big Wednesday.”

“In the world of surfboard memorabilia this board is perhaps the most cherished and desired to collectors of old surfboards,” said Snyder, who owns the board. “It’s one of a kind and the workmanship is beautiful.”

The “funeral board,” made sometime in the 1930s, is painted black. It washed up on Hermosa Beach in 1951. Snyder, who also owns this board, said little is known about its past.

“It’s interesting because nobody would paint (a surfboard) black,” he said, adding the board has been used in funerals of pioneers of the surfing sport.

On display to the public for the first time will be Snyder’s “King’s Crest” surfboard, which has an the ornate crest of Kamehameha, Hawaii’s first king.

“We’re trying to figure out the history of the board,” Snyder said, adding it is unknown who it originally belonged to.

Beasley said the exhibit will also include a long board from the personal collection of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach).

Today’s celebration will feature a presentation to the museum of a collectible compact disc of Beach Boys hits of the past 30 years. Museum visitors can also sign up for a drawing to meet the Beach Boys in person later this summer, Beasley said.

Beasley said that volunteers are needed to help out at the museum, open from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 students.

For more information, call (714) 960-3483.