Original Bob Simmons wooden board for sale

 This great piece of history is for sale at the 

California Gold Vintage Surf Auction - September 26th

Seminal post-World War II surfboard designer and shaper from Pasadena, California; a primary architect of the modern surfboard who almost singlehandedly brought into play the now-fundamental principles of nose-lift, foil, and finely sculpted rails. the lanky 6’2″ Simmons was compelled, almost from the moment he began surfing, to create better equipment. He learned the fundamentals of board-building in the mid-’40s from the talented but surly Gard Chapin (stepfather to surf icon Mickey Dora); in 1946 he acquired a copy of a lengthy MIT study on planing hulls, and began applying its complex equations and theories to surfboards.By 1949, the typical Simmons board was wide (around 24 inches), with a thin, squared-off tail, finely turned and calibrated rails, and a broad spoonlike nose. Pre-war boards for the most part had been redwood-balsa composites coated in varnish; Simmons, working out of his garage in Pasadena, used balsa only and was one of the first to cover his boards with a layer of resin-saturated fiberglass. On September 26, 1954, in eight-foot waves at San Diego’s Windansea, Simmons was struck in the head by his own board and drowned. He was 35.
This board belonged to legendary San Diego lifeguard and TJ Sloughs surfer Dempsey Holder.
Allen “Dempsey” Holder was one of the earliest surfers in San Diego, California’s south county. He was one of the first surfers to ride the big surf off the coast of the Tijuana sloughs. Dempsey was also head of the Imperial Beach lifeguard services for many years. The Public Safety building that houses sheriff and lifeguard services is now named after Dempsey for his important contributions to surfing and public safety.
THIS BOARD HAS IT ALL : Pedigree, Provenance & Patina.

For more info on this board and others on offer :www.thevintagesurfauction.com/sneek-peek