Stinson Beach Calif 1965.
Here is where I learned to surf and got my first board. My family lived in Mill Valley before it got gentrified and I would hitch hike or beg a ride over the mountain to the first legitimate beach nearby: Stinson. As a 14 year old; I would pace the street in front of the only surf shop in town waiting for them to open at 9…and rent my favorite board …a 9’-6” Bing. The beach was rough and the water was brutally cold. Rental cost me five bucks for the day (and that 5.00 was tough to come up with back then.) and I used every minute of that rental time. I think the dude got sick of me waking him up every Saturday morning and hanging around his shop waiting for me to return the beater so he offered me the Bing for 40.00. I had to plead with my old man for the loan. Then I had to find rides over the Panoramic Hwy switchbacks or Shoreline Highway (local route1). Early on I sprung for a 2pc. heavy inflexible beavertail wetsuit I bought in a dive shop in Sausalito. The family eventually moved before “the summer of love” ever happened….but I had my first board….and never knew until later that I had learned to surf in the Great White’s breeding grounds. before leashes … typical pic of board retrieval after losing it
