For a historical perspective on Bournemouth’s surfing history, local surfer Joe Hart writes:

To give you a brief history, Bournemouth has being entwined in the very roots of the UK surfing for nearly 50 years. Pioneer Bob Groves has been the man credited for introducing surfing to Bournemouth in the early sixties, blowing his own foam, shaping and running the surfline surf shop with partner Bill Davies, his boards which are still floating around are still highly sort after by UK collectors.

Bob may have been the pioneer, but it is commonly recognised that Roger Castle was the father of modern surfing in Bournemouth. His love for the sport opened the gateway for many surfers in the local area and beyond. He was a key figure in the involvement in the Wessex surf club which is still going strong after 40 years and served as publisher and editor of Tube News, one of the countries first surf magazines helping to pioneer the surf scene in the 70’s and 80’s. Even the powerhouse of the BSA was located here for 9 years through the late 70’s and early 80’s.



There has been a huge array of home grown local talent busting from our urban shores, the likes of Derek Dear, Guy Penwarden, Eric Davis, Leigh Hammond, Terry Crump and “Big Ron” Aaron Strong doing it for the Wessex, the list goes on and on so I won’t bore you with the details. But is Bournemouth surfing living the past with the old crew? Well unfortunately for my wave count at least I pleased to say that we’ve got a load of cheeky groms willing to carry the torch for next generation, with the likes of Miles Lee-Hargreaves and Tom Weston two young surfers starting to turn heads in the line-ups, riding boards a blazed with sponsorship decals that would make a seasoned pro jealous.