HOW BOB McTAVISH, GEORGE GREENOUGH, NAT YOUNG CHANGED SURFING FOREVER

What a point in time. Tell us how it affected you in the comments below!
In 1966, Australia’s Nat Young famously landed in San Diego with his revolutionary 9’4” affectionately dubbed “Magic Sam” in tow. Winning the World Championships, depending on what part of the world you come from and how you view surf history, this was the first shot fired in the Shortboard Revolution as Nat’s performance on the board cracked open a whole new realm of ideas. (Others contend the Shortboard Revolution actually kicked off on Maui with Dick Brewer and his LSD Surfboards…Lahaina Surf Designs…but that’s a story for another day.) Surf history gets a bit fuzzy at times, the point is, Magic Sam was a game changer. Endowed with a George Greenough foiled fin, Young contends that none of this happens without the genius of Greenough:
"George Greenough is the only genius we’ve ever had in the evolution of surfing. We’ve had a lot of really talented, smart people that have contributed a lot, but for me, George was the genius. There’s so many aspects to what George is thinking. From cameras, to boards, to fish, he’s out there.
I would say that from a design point of view, George has contributed more than anyone else in the world. And I would also say, that Bob [McTavish] played with the concepts that George was introducing him to. We had to deal with the fact that we weren’t on kneeboards, so our center of gravity wasn’t low. We were standing up. That was the biggest reality for me.
"George showed me the difference in the type of foils, whether it could be a flat foil or it could be a curved foil, that made a huge difference to the performance of the board."
I had to come to terms with the fact that it was a ridiculous idea that I could surf like George Greenough standing up-not on a kneeboard anyway.
I had copied the outline of the Greenough fin from my time up the coast, but I really didn’t understand how to sand fins properly. I thought I was going in the right direction, but when George showed me the difference in the type of foils, whether it could be a flat foil or it could be a curved foil, that made a huge difference to the performance of the board.
George was fooling around with McTavish up at Alexander Headlands. He wasn’t working for him, he’d been a commercial fisherman out of Santa Barbara for quite awhile at that stage, so when he came to Australia, which I believe was ’64, I think, from memory. He made a real impact on us because we could see that you could store energy in the fin, which was energy in the board, which could drive you forward.
I made Magic Sam at Gordon Woods Surfboards in Sydney and took it up the coast and rode it many places. Then I brought it over to California and a guy called Ted Wilson and John Witzig and I were invited up to George’s family home in Montecito. Then we got to surf the Ranch, Rincon, all those places. That was kind of the testing ground to prove that the board was surfing really well. But as I say, it wouldn’t have been surfing well if it hadn’t been for George grabbing the thing and making a new fin for it.
I knew that I was surfing really different because I wasn’t noseriding. I mean, I was, but our theory about noseriding was that when the curl presented itself you’d either go down and get under the curl or you’d noseride away from it. I could noseride just fine, but I couldn’t do anything about the time on the tip like David Nuuuhiwa. I was super impressed by David’s surfing and his ability to ride the nose. For me, it was just the circumstances, I guess. Because my surfing was a bit different, I won [the 1966 World Championships] on that basis, I suppose." Jake Howard /Surfer Magazine
Sources:
Austraila surfing museum
The Blum brothers
The Witzig brothers
Tim Burstall
Patagonia
The Community Library
Nat Young
Byron Surf Festival
Surfing World Australia
Peter Green
Music:
The Colletctors
Plum Nelly
Accolade

[@erikhancock98569]

Thanks for posting this Gem of a documentary . With how popular surfing is becoming not many really know how the equipment and approach to surfing evolved. You've done a great job putting up essential and important videos to surf culture. I greatly appreciate it!🤙

[@georgelamb8074]

Met Bob an got a custom 7’-9 v bottom 1968 Best fun ever. I was 14

[@bombietours]

Great doc. I have been on a McTavish 7' 7 for the last 15 years and love it. Its great in the big stuff and still rides a 3 footer like a dream. Best board ever for any kind of wave. PURA VIDA 🤙😎

[@RealSurfStories]

Dream Board!!

[@chrishubbard1442]

In context I would addd Bob Simmons as Greenough"s lead and Dewey Weber at Malibu as the first true hot dogger with aggressive slashing turns.

[@RealSurfStories]

Dick Brewer, Reno Abellira, Miget Farrelly, Russel Hughes, Jim Foley and way more are on that list but this video focuses on these three.

[@jpmor7327]

In 2016 got a TinklerTail 7'6 Singlefin from the late 60's From a Garage in Imperial Beach San Diego in near pristine condition. I surfed the board at Sunset Cliffs and the flexible tail would twist to my power side creating a big plane on the wave face as i bottom turned into the pocket. One of the funnest surf sessions ever and i quickly put the board away in my storage :) i have a feeling this boards a piece of surf history probably shouldnt have ridden it but i had to try it!

[@RealSurfStories]

That's all time! Did Mc T shape it?

[@jpmor7327]

@@RealSurfStories i assume it was shaped by him in San Diego in the late 60's it says CreamMachine glassed into one of the rails. It doesnt have a signature on it.

[@davidanderson8469]

Bob I visited some Aussie friends in Sydney in 1979. They had a Holden Ute. Your pop overhauled the auto for us and we hauled a caravan up the coast staying in various beachside caravan parks. It was off season being June through August. The weather was pristine, the parks were clean, uncrowded and cheap back then. Best surf I got was at Scott's Head. It was a good 4' for several days. On our way up to Surfer's Paradise for the day from Byron we passed under your place at Lennox Head. I Byron we stayed at the Suffolk Caravan Park. There was a river running out every day that formed a sand plume. I rode a loaned 9' Michael Cundith board out there everyday and had a blast. I'm 74 now and can remember that trip like it was yesterday but I can't remember what I did yesterday. Good health. BTW. I'm from San Diego but didn't watch much of the contest as the surf everywhere was much less crowded due to the competition.

[@REnfield2022]

That was Bob's father in law who built automatics in Sydney. His father never left Qld

[@dave9351]

Loved George's description of why he had to "stay in the position of power always and ride his kneeboards at full throttle" only because he would bog out and sink if it started slowing down since they had almost zero flotation. Long boards could make it through almost any section of the wave since they had so much surface area. Great video and thank you for the up-load ! George Greenough GOAT ! Liked / Subscribed

[@djsurf]

outstanding - -stevie richards aka sticky built a 5' fish in his garage in ocean city nj - summer of 71'- what a blast - cold duck and mex -- to much fun - also the short from the master himself the Cat - meet him years back at a surf expo - corky was there too - to much fun - thanks boys - you changed the surfing world and culture -

[@Surfocker]

WONDERFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUL!!!!!!

[@MrTenniswest]

Stoked! Thanks.

[@jdp7961]

I work at a restaurant on the wharf, and I love telling the story about the Hawaiian princesses, surfing the river mouth as we have a spectacular view of the surf break.

[@RealSurfStories]

@jdp7961 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpWXf4dqhct3iZI

[@caseyhansen4567]

Bob McTavish was at rincon in 1969 with greenough and ventura surfshops Bill blinky Hubina and came down to Ventura shaping boards with blinky who was experimenting with shorter boards.he still uses a McTavish v in his boards

[@johnsononey]

Would you have the Surfers Journal on GG ? I think was 1993 . I love that episode. Thanks for this upload too

[@jackwest5295]

Nat's that , and that's That..

[@dudeleboski2692]

Hey Grace, and glide is back!

[@RealSurfStories]

It sure is!!

[@alejandrotejedapenzo2358]

Thank You 🙏

[@card_stock_gliders]

John Eichert of the IKE label started developing the "v-slot" fin in 1961. There was also the Dewey Weber hatchet fin, and perhaps other fins that enabled better turning, before this 1966 contest. To say that Americans only had boards with big skegs and "had no idea what was going on" is probably a response to seeing only noserider/contest surfers (to say nothing of the fact that Greenough was also American).

[@RealSurfStories]

They definitely saw more than noseriders and knew damn well Americans were at the forefront before 1966, especially being that George brought that technology to Oz.

[@ironphil62]

👍🍺

[@jackwest5295]

Angourie..1974

[@NautFin]

There is in truth no greater story in Australian surfing than the fairy Godfather of Australian surfing than Chris Brock of South Bondi. Thats my true flag forever set.

[@RealSurfStories]

Fairy?

[@wagonron]

Aussies wanted to "EXTRACT a lot more from the wave," sounding like true colonists, perhaps inadvertently 😫

[@seanb9362]

History lesson: Britain colonised Australia. These comments reflecting on the late 60's - surfing, no less - have nothing to do with colonists or the British mindset from 1788. What point are you trying to make?