Lately we are getting lots of guys finding photos from back in the day, and we’re loving it!
Rob Evans sent us a great batch of photos from the 70’s.
Above is John Paulson and his cousin Gary Gutshall, 1970. Look at that sweet board!
Rob considers himself lucky to have grow up in Goleta. He grew up near Stow Lake, with lots of exploring and good childhood fun outdoors with his good friends, the Carnaghes.
He discovered surfing in 1963 at Poles. It’s still one of his favorite waves.
Robin’s first board was a 9′ 2″ Ike and he would paddle and practice in his pool.
His mom would drop him off at Goleta Beach and he would carry and drag his board up to Poles.
He spent almost every day at “college” and for lunch, he would walk over to the dorms and raid the candy machines.
Above is Rob at the H, 1970.
He also spent a lot of time hanging out at the Doug Roth shop with Mark Carnaghe where they bought stickers to put on their skateboards.
His next board was a Yater Spoon, and he says that was an amazing upgrade.
Check out the rocker on the single fin pictured above….
In the early sixties, his parents friends lived in the house above the Haskells pier. They used to play around the house and cliffs and he remembers hearing the waves crashing in the night during sleepovers. This was before he surfed, but he knew then it was a special place.
Sadly, the house burned down in the Eagle Fire.
Evans surfed Haskells for the first time in 1965. His neighbor, Ron Griffin, was older with a car and he took him there. It seemed so remote back then.
During the mid sixties, Rob started to hang in IV, the beach break was good then, lots of sand. They used to have live music at the bottom of the ramp, so you could surf to music. How cool is that!
There were couches and fire pits on the beach so you could surf all day and party all night and never have to leave!
To the right of the ramp got really good, as did Depressions. He had friends that lived in IV,
so he left his board there for after school sessions.
Bob Gadsby, above.
Shortboards came next and Evans bought his first new board, an 8′ Creative Freedom Beach Break model.
He got it at the Doug Roth shop, which by that time, had been taken over by John Bradbury. That was the
beginning of a long friendship with Bradbury. Those were the only boards he surfed for a long time, and according to Rob, the only boards that mattered in this area.
Eventually, they started making their own boards by cutting down there long boards.
Their “factory” was John Paulson’s house on Fortuna in I.V. John had a Morey Pope Blue Machine that he cut down. What a shame…
Paulson’s dad worked at the Gas Company, and he managed to get the boys into the Ranch. They took one trip with Jeff Hakman who at that time was riding Bradbury’s as well. Rob was in the class of 1970 at Dos Pueblos. That class was a hotbed for surfing talent, including Mark Carnaghe, Roland Yarnell, Stan Davis, Bruce Fowler, Char, Don Radon, Jim Marshall, David Toney, Steve Talley, John Magazino, Todd Horlacher, Hap Ponedel and Achim Zahren to name a few.
Above is Bob Gadsby at El Cap.
Access has always been an issue at some of Goleta’s remote spots, even back then. He remembers for a
while, you couldn’t walk down to Haskells because they had a guard there. You had to walk around, or surf
with someone that lived in Rancho Embarcadero. Further up the coast, you could park on the freeway and
walk down to the beach, but you had to look out for the bull that roamed around there. And even further
up, you could camp on the cliffs above the first crack at Jalama for free.
Above is Rob at El Cap.
Above is Rob at Sands on his Bradbury.
In 1971, Rob and Bob Gadsby hiked in to the Ranch and dubbed their own little spot Roach Reef. Pretty sure they weren’t referring to the bug by that name…..
That’s the late Mr. Gadsby above, RIP bro.
6/27/51 – 2/21/2011.
Gadsby at Roach Reef.
Looks like a fun ride.
Pictured here is our subject, Mr. Evans, taking an unscheduled afternoon snooze. They made these boards themselves.
Where Rob now works, he has access to these incredible aerial shots from the past. If you really look at them, you’ll recognize a lot of familiar places.
Haskells Beach area, July 1948.
Lots of oil piers and lots of sand.
Rancho Embarcadero was all orchards. Walnuts, probably.
This is a great view of Haskells, showing the old parking area
and all the trails around the area.
Rob insists this is Haskells, but we can’t see it.
What are the big buildings with a flagpole in the foreground?
This is a jewel. The Captain in 1928. So undeveloped, so natural, so empty. And look at the white water and the lines wrapping in. There was surf this day in 1928, totally unridden.
Such a cool view of the future campus back in 1948.
Probably could easily score a solo session at Poles back then.
Rob still charges it and a lot of the same spots he surfed as a youngster.
Rob enjoying his 58th birthday, thanks to Woody and Alicia.
And he’s got, by far, the coolest ride in the parking lot…
Rob says, ” That was such a great era to grow up in, with the music, the surf, the beach, the questioning of authority, especially with Viet Nam lurking, because we were that age to be drafted. The ocean was, and still is, a great place to escape.” Amen.
Thanks Rob, for sharing a few of your memories.
