This page is dedicated to Dale Velzy...
Mowin' Foam
Velzy's latest work.
Velzy turns it into a work of art whether it's a full redwood hot curl, balsa malibu or a contemporary Malibu Express- Hawk does 'em all! Hawk's blank volume has gone way up since the rebirth of longboarding, but has he stated several years ago- "I don't want to be in business full time now. Three or four boards a week is fine. People come to me wanting the old-style foam board. Sure, I'm still working. I'm too restless to do nothing." That was 15 years ago.
Velzy has been teamed with a crew made up of guys like Grubby
Clark of Clark Foam (rocker templates are restricted you knew
that..right),Waterman's Guild, Fins Unlimited-a.k.a. the Bahne
brothers, respected shaper Jim Phillips, and Barry Jones (Velzy's
business manager) to produce a premium quality product surpassed by
none. It is a excellent production package for a legend of Velzy's
stature. He is still the master shaper of all time and keeps a watchful
eye on production to ensure nothing but the best for the Velzy brand.
You can pick up one of these classics at:
For the complete surf history click here or on the balsa gun.
Anthropologists have estimated that Hawaiian surfing is over a thousand years old, and Polynesian surfing dates back as far as three or four thousand years. Surfing was interwoven into every aspect of traditional royal Hawaiian life: Instruction in surfing was an important part of a young chief's education, and commoners were relegated to specific surfing beaches. The sport was inextricably bound to religion, elaborate rites and rituals surrounded the construction of the wood surfboards themselves. The rituals began at the moment a tree was selected for the construction of a surfboard. The Hawaiians presented a fish as an offering to the gods in exchange for use of the tree. After chants and incantations by the kahuna, or priest, the tree was brought down to the beach and hand shaped into a surfboard with stone or bone tools. Surfing festivals and meets were popular till the early 19th century, and heavy wagers were placed on the outcome of surf contests. It was not uncommon for a man to lose all of his possessions from betting on the outcome of surfing contests. In essence, surfing was deeply woven into every aspect of native Hawaiian culture, society, and religion. (Read more on this issue in "Waves of Transformation" By: Carin Crawford Surf History 220A.
The Velzy Pages Surfboards from the Velzy Gallery. "Talk Story" Origins and Revival of a California Surfboard Questions send to Casper's Mail.
Viejos South Bay Main
Page last updated April 3, 2002.
Copyright ©1996 Big Al Communications Corporation. Photo © Velzy Associates, Inc.