I spent last Saturday looking for Bob McTavish, the man who ignited the spark that became a wildfire called the Shortboard Revolution in 1967. McTavish, who hails from Australia, was being honored at Scott Bass’ Boardroom event in a subcategory called the Icons of Foam.
The idea here is for surfboard shapers to compete to see who can shape the best copy of a classic design from the past, which in this case was McTavish’s original Vee Bottom. Michael Arenal edged out future legend Ryan Burch, earning himself a beautiful trophy and a check for $2,000, something every surfboard maker who builds boards by hand needs, especially after molded boards became so popular.
When I asked shaper Hank Warner and Boardroom ring master Bass where I could find McTavish, they had identical answers: “Hiding.” It seems Bob is so popular among board builders that lines formed nearly around the building just to say hello.
I first became aware of McTavish in the mid ’60s when he rode shorter, lighter Vee-Bottomed surfboards to fame.
It all began when ex-patriot kneeboarder George Greenough moved to Australia and pioneered a style of surfing nobody had ever seen. George’s surfing was characterized by faster movement down the line, sharper turns and closeness to the curl.
Witnessing Greenough’s surfing led Australia’s top surfers, including Nat Young, and the aforementioned McTavish to build boards that looked like spaceships to those of us raised on 10-foot, 30-pound boards. Like Greenough’s kneeboards, the new models turned quicker and hung farther back in the pocket.
The first Vee Bottom I ever saw was under the feet of U.S. standout Steve Bigler, who brought it home from Australia after a surf trip there with the Windansea Surf Club. Bigler’s surfing was so advanced that it immediately convinced me that this was the way to go.
So, I did what many of us dummies did at that time: I went to the family garage, peeled the fiberglass from my Mike Hynson Model G&S Surfboard, reshaped it into an 8-foot Vee Bottom and glassed it.
Before Bigler, it was McTavish who sold the idea to the rest of the surfing world with his brilliant wave riding and electric personality.
The year 1973 found my brother Dave and me waiting out a major rainstorm in our tents in the Broken Head Caravan Park in Australia. Everything we owned was wet and molding and now we too were starting to wrinkle up and turn green.
Thankfully, McTavish stopped by and offered us a hand. He took us home, dried out our clothes and gave us the first hot meal we’d had in weeks. A while later, Bob generously taught my brother the art of shaping surfboards, something that led Dave to Hawaii where he became a force in the world of board building there.
I left Australia in 1974 but stayed in touch with McTavish through letters from time to time. He was always interested in new board ideas and had a particular curiosity for a board I helped the ever-talented Michael Willis design, something he called the Aweselator.
It would be decades before I encountered Bob McTavish again. He was older, but not old, curious about the world of emerging technology while being firmly planted in the world he helped create in the ’60s.
I never did get to pop in and offer my friend Bob a handshake and a cheerful g’day. If you happen to catch him around town, however, please tell him thanks for Chris and Dave Ahrens.
