During the early 1960’s a group of friends had started to hang out on the cliff tops between Ventnor beach and Steephill Cove. These bored teenagers soon began to focus their attention on the ocean. The Island at that time still had many unexplored pockets of coastline or so it felt to this group of friends. The ocean soon became their playground.
Roger Backhouse, Sue Ellis, John Ainsworth, Kevin Digweed, Geoff ‘Ned’ Garner, Colin Burgess, Colin Hicks, and Russell Long would spend their time diving, fishing, swimming and belly boarding on home made wooden boards. When Russell Long had passed his driving test and bought a car they started to explore other parts of the Islands coastline.
All year round they would be found playing in or around the ocean. If they weren’t belly boarding at Steephill Cove, they would be skimboarding at Sandown or Skateboarding down Cascades at Ventnor on homemade skateboards.
The friends soon found out that by mail order they could buy wetsuits from Lillywhites, Piccadilly Circus in London. This enabled them to spend more time in the ocean all year round with their new half inch thick wetsuits.
While on their travels around the Island they came across Pat Morrell and Mike ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson a woodwork teacher riding wooden belly boards at Niton. On one trip to Compton Bay they saw Paul Coleman, Archie Trickett, ‘Old Joe’, and a guy called John (thought to be MD at Plessey at that time) experimenting with homemade 12ft wooden surfboards.
At the same time they had come a cross a picture of Joel de Rosnay surfing in Biarritz, France in a magazine. The quest to get proper surfboards was on.
Colin Burgess, John Ainsworth and Roger Backhouse
Roger and Sue were soon driving to Newquay and to visit the famous Bilbo surf shop. They met with Bob Head to discuss board requirements. Spending all their savings that were originally for a new gas oven they were soon to come away with a lovely 10ft Bilbo single fin longboard. At the same time Roger met Rod Sumpter in the Bilbo shop. This would have been just before Rod went down to the European Championships in Biarritz.
Roger and Sue’s return to the Island with the new Bilbo Surfboard prompted the others to travel to Newquay almost immediately. It was the end of the season and the ‘Paint Spot’ in Newquay (which was where Somerfield is now) was selling off all of its hire boards in the sale. Deals were done and soon all the friends had surfboards and were travelling down to Newquay as often as they could.
Geoff 'Ned' Gardner
On the Island Colin Burgess and Colin Hicks had started to surf the inside Bay at Niton. The Bay was full of kelp and was quite sheltered so the waves always seemed to be really glassy. But with their heavy surfboards and no leashes at that time the rocks of Niton were not very kind. Unknowing to the bunch of friends but Pat Morrell and Hutch had gone to Biarritz.
The group of friends soon discovered a lovely wave at Little Stairs beach, Sandown.. Little Stairs beach was just along from where ‘Wight Water’ is today (this is long before the sea wall was built). This was a popular spot for the group of friends.
Rusty Long and John Ainsworth
In March 1967 Rod Sumpter made a trip to the Island. Rod was on a UK tour promoting surfing. Rod had just come back from placing in the top 6 at the San Diego Surf Championships in 1966. ‘Ned’ Gardner and John Ainsworth bumped into Rod near Freshwater Bay. The Bay was pumping and Rod was very excited to know if anyone had surfed there before. It wasn’t long before Rod was out in the waves at the Bay. It was a very cold day in March 1967, but it didn’t deter Rod to get out there in just a pair of boardies. Rod is thought to be the very first person to have surfed at Freshwater Bay. Rod said after his surf that he thought Freshwater Bay to be the best point break on the South of England.
The friends decided to start a Isle of Wight Surf Club and held their first meeting in a tent on the cliff tops near Ventnor. An advert was put in the Isle of Wight County Press Newspaper in 1967 advertising the club. The advert asked that anyone with an interest in surfing come along to 29 Spring Hill, Ventnor where they began to hold their club meetings and the Isle of Wight Surf Club was born.