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He represented the last great generation of surfers who had successfully made the transition from sixties longboards to ultra shortboards in the seventies. In many ways California’s David Nuuhiwa was surfing’s greatest rock star with charismatic looks, oodles of style and an undeniably formidable presence both in and out of the water.
1972 was meant to be David Nuuhiwa’s last chance to win a World Title in California. He had competed in his first Worlds as a junior in the 1965 World Surfing Championship held at Punta Rocas, Peru won by local Big Wave Champion Felipe Pomar.
By 1966 the Hawaiian born, Huntington Beach transplant was riding high on the nose. No one did it better than David and the Southern Californians were backing their inherited hero to become the next World Champ.
Nuuhiwa, the nose-riding King of the 60s was considered a shoe in for the 1966 World Title. That was until Australia’s rampaging Nat Young shattered the American dream with a whole new progressive style of powerhouse manoeuvres, winning convincingly even before the final round was surfed.
Nat blasted everyone out of the water on his 9ft McTavish/Greenough flex fin – a beat up board famously named “Sam.”
Australia’s shortboard revolution had been lead by McTavish/ Young and Santa Barbara’s kneeboarding genius, George Greenough. As Nat broke the line on a wave so to had surfing irrevocably changed course from a traditional approach dominated by the American longboard era to a whole innovative Aussie “We’re tops now” progressive, aggressive style.
In the 1968 Worlds at Puerto Rico the shortboard transition was literally spearheaded by 8ft Brewer mini guns. Nuuhiwa had adapted to reach the semi-finals, proving that he was still capable of competing at the highest level. However, Hawaii’s Fred Hemmings won the World Title on a retro longboard, catching the biggest waves to outsmart Midget Farrelly on his pintail gun. Fred got the nod but many felt the gifted, nimble-footed Midget – the 1964 World Champ – had won again.
Nuuhiwa represented America again in the 1970 World Titles at Bells Beach/Johanna, which was won by fellow Californian Rolf Aurness on a 6’8” single fin diamond tail. While David was eliminated early, he was far from a spent force, continuing to evolve on the latest shortboard equipment and claiming a US National title in 1971. Nuuhiwa’s influence had significant reach and the same year he was on the front cover of TRACKS, surfing at Tracks, a surfbreak on the west side of Oahu, Hawaii.
With the World Surfing Championships held every two years, the 1972 United States Surfing Championships at Huntington Beach (Nuuhiwa’s homebreak) would determine the American Team. This was a month before the 72 Worlds were to be held at San Diego. Nuuhiwa qualified for the US Team finishing fourth. Interestingly the format used for the eliminations was man on man. Not the first time that the one-on-one format had been employed; it was used previously in the US events in 71.
At the US titles David was surfing a new, radical shortboard design called a swallowtail, twin-fin fish. It measured 5’6” and he brandished his latest version in a full-page sponsors ad. This caused ire and consternation amongst the San Diego locals who accused Nuuhiwa of not giving sufficient credit to San Diego Kneeboard shaper Steve Lis, who they credited as the originator of the new, shortboard fish design.
So, with his controversial fish-design in hand the stage was set for Nuuhiwa’s last stand and a crack at an elusive World Title in the 1972 World Surfing Championships, hosted exclusively by San Diego. No one realised it at the time but it would prove to be a kind of last Alamo and the end of ISF (International Surfing Federation) led World Titles.
Nuuhiwa arrived like a surfing rock star, long black hair trailing as he pulled up in a flashy, white Jaguar. Unbeknownst to him, there was a Huntington Beach vs San Diego rivalry brewing and the latter were seeking retribution.
Kneeboard shaper Steve Lis stumbled on the twin fin fish design back in 1969 when a longboard swept into the Sunset Cliffs, breaking in half. He reshaped it into a kneeboard adding the twin fin swallow-tail design. The San Diego kneeboarders immediately jumped on the innovative design, using it to dominate at Big Rock, a slabby, rock shelf left adjacent to Windansea, La Jolla Shores.
On the opening day of the 1972 Worlds competition, Nuuhiwa was surfing like a champion and well on track to clinch the title. Later that day, he visited fellow competitors at the Travelodge Hotel in San Diego Harbour next to the Navy where the US submarines were ominously docked.
David parked the conspicuous Jag, laden with all his boards tied on top including the heat winner. While he was inside the Hotel, San Diego kneeboard rider Mitchell X drove into the car park and spotted David’s car & boards. He had no preconceived plan to steal the board but like many of the San Diego locals he was incensed by Nuuhiwa’s apparent appropriation of the Steve Lis fish design. He went over to the car and checked out the designs, calling it ‘a terrible board’ he untied the boards and then removed Dave’s favourite and without anyone seeing, quickly drove off with it. Further down the road, he threw it out onto the curb and backed over it a number of times to break it in half.
Meanwhile back at “Hotel California” the alarm bells were ringing with the news that Nuuhiwa’s board had been stolen. Who would do such a thing? Unfazed Nuuhiwa ordered up a brand-new fresh fish to replace the stolen one and surfed the latest incarnation better again.
On finals day in the wee hours before daylight and under the cover of the deep-sea fog, Mitchell X tied Nuuhiwa’s broken board from the Ocean Beach Pier, leaving it dangling for all to see. A spike was shoved into the foam to draw attention to the encrypted message scrawled on the bottom “Good Luck Dave”. And then Mitchell went surfing to marvel at his creation.
When MP & I drove into the Ocean Beach car park, we, like everyone else, were greeted with this bizarre spectacle. Naturally Nuuhiwa was furious not realising that the perpetrator was standing right next to him. Revenge is a dish best served cold and hanging from a pier.
“Wow, if that’s how they treat their heroes, what will they do to us (Aussies) if we win,” I said to Michael feeling a tad uneasy as we witnessed a cluster of drug deals going down in the car park.
Nuuhiwa surfed better on the replacement board but came up agonizingly short in a closely fought final. He was pipped at the post by Hawaii’s Jimmy Blears for the 72 World Title, on a final wave. Ironically, Jimmy was also riding a swallow tail, twin fin fish! And so it was that the 1972 World Title was fought out on a kneeboard design! This was the birth of the fish but because of the ignominious end of the 72 Worlds, its evolution was stifled. Until resurrected much later, in the nineties, by Tom Curren and followed by the new generation of Rasta, Pacey, Kersey etc., the Twin fin Fish is now enjoying a full renaissance and many surfers have one in their quiver.
I never quite understood the gravity of the whole “Good Luck Dave” story until researching, “The Legends of the Surf 72” Exhibition. When the Torquay Australian Surfing Museum hosted LOS72 exhibition, a post appeared on their facebook site with a self-confessed admission “I did it!” San Diego kneeboarder who I’ve called Mitchell X, admitted to me what really happened 51 years ago. At the recent launch of the Fish Doco in San Diego, Mitchell was given a standing ovation. As for Dave’s broken board and its whereabouts – well it remains a mystery, or does it? Anyone who knows where it ended up is free to contact me on facebook or my Instagram account @andy_mac53
Andrew McKinnon is writing a book, “Legends of Surf 72” on the events and experiences of 1972 to be released during the next showing of the award-winning Surf Culture Exhibition at Port Macquarie Surfing Museum and Surfing Australia’s Surf Festival at Port Macquarie in August.
