October 4, 2007

Surfing DVD 'board shorts' third in series

BY KING QUILLEN
FOR FLORIDA TODAY

Times could be turbulent in the 1960s, as a new generation of teens questioned the culture and searched for direction. Some found their way in the waves that propelled them into the sport and the lifestyle of surfing.

“Board Shorts,” a recently-released DVD, captures a segment of those early surfing days. The cover summarizes the action and spirit of the times: “Hair got long, boards went short. A time of innocence ended. Laws were passed, laws were broken. Surfing reflected life — life reflected surfing.”

The DVD was produced by Will Lucas of Surf 64 Productions Ltd. Now catching waves in Melbourne Beach, Lucas was a pioneer surfer in Ocean City, Md., in the ’60s. “Board Shorts” is the third in his series of East Coast Surf Documentaries that preserve photos, films and memories from the sport’s early years. “I’m doing it because it’s a labor of love,” Lucas said. “These 8 mm films are deteriorating. They won’t be in existence in 10 years. I feel real good about preserving a part of history.”

The history he preserved in “Board Shorts” shows a sport that was initially outlawed and scorned. Surfers were banned from public beaches. Often their image had more to do with drinking and drugs than performing a serious sport. But the sport moved beyond the image and the issues, and the surfers pictured in the DVD matured into business owners, ministers and counselors — who still have a passion for surfing. “It’s a movie with a positive message,” Lucas said. “(Surfing) is a healthy sport that helps you cope with a lot of life’s stresses. It is a healthy life style.”

The DVD features pioneer surfers, such as Carl Hatch, of Melbourne, describing the negative and positive sides of early surfing culture. “We were breaking away from the traditional rules of the ‘60s, breaking out of the culture of our parents,” Hatch said. “We magnified it, made it glamorous. I moved beyond that glamorization, but never lost that spirit. Surfing back then and still today is an outlet for rest, relaxation and mind
clearing.”

Lucas spent two years interviewing pioneer surfers, collecting pictures and film they’d saved for almost half a century and editing the footage into a fast-paced mix of history, nostalgia and “tons of surfing.” Famous surfers are featured, including Indialantic’s “Balsa Bill” Yerkes and Pensacola’s Yancy Spencer III, both enshrined in the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame and Museum. But most of the 70 or so contributors were ordinary people surfing the Gulf and East coasts during the ‘60s and ‘70s.

“It’s not so much one person or the area, but the experience, as young surfers what we were experiencing,” Lucas said. “Everybody who surfed during that period will relate to it.” There’s plenty to relate to, including a shot of a surfer standing on a canvas mat, the first “board” for many early wave riders. Emotions swing between grownups giggling about youthful beach romances to Vietnam veterans recalling the solace of surfing China Beach.

Music that evokes the era and the lifestyle backs the scenes. “Maui Wowie” sizzles from North Carolina musicians and surfers, the Da Howlies. Thoughtful lyrics and rollicking rhythms from Indialantic surfer and musician Ken Holt recommend “Do What U Can Do” and “Practice What U Preach” “It has an old rock and roll feel to it,” Holt said of his songs. “The feel of the music fits with a surf video. It fits with rolling waves and guys on surfboards.”

The title “Board Shorts” plays off the name for popular beach trunks and also describes the format. The 53-minute main section includes 10 themed segments, including Discovering Waves, Rite of Passage and Surfboards. An additional section includes tributes to fallen surfers such as Bill Wise and Jim McNulty.