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surfers : wayne lynch

Wayne Lynch
(1952 - )

Photograph : Tom Servais
Surfer Magazine Volume 40 Number 10 October 1999. Page 209.

Home: Lorne, Victoria.
Beach : Lorne, Victoria.
Surfer, Shaper, Designer, Windsurfer, Musician.
Competitive Record
Bells Beach Junior Men'sTitle
1966
1967
1968
1969, and 6th in the Open Title.
Australian Junior Men’s Title
1967 Bells Beach Vic.
1968 Northern beaches, Sydney
1969 Margret River, WA.
1970 Bells Beach Vic.
1968 European Title , La Barre France
1968 World Contest, Puerto Rico. Competitor.
1970 World Contest, Victoria. Competitor.
1975 2SM Coke Surfabout , Sydney. First Place
1975 Bells Beach Contest 6th Wayne Lynch
1976 Lightning Bolt Contest, Hawaii 1st Rory Russell.
Australian finalists : Mark Richards, Mark Warren and Wayne Lynch
1976 IPS World Title Rankings 8th Wayne Lynch
1977 Alan Oke Memorial Contest, 4th Wayne Lynch
1978 2SM Coke Surfabout , Sydney 1st Larry Blair 2nd Wayne Lynch .

Shaping
John Arnold Surfboards, 142 Gawler Place Adelaide South Australia
Klemm-Bell Sufboards, Torquay, circa 1971.
Surftech models, 2003.
Personal Interview Notes, 10 March 2005.

Wayne Lynch Shapers Decal
Rip Curl Surfboards, circa 1978.
Image contributed, with thanks, by Michael Rundell.
April, 2006.

REFERENCES
Catalogue Entries:
Also noted: Wayne Lynch Involment-John Arnold Surfboards, 952 W. Lynch 8' 3" , with Waveset-Safeset fin Box, 1968-1969.

	#103 Wayne Lynch Involment John Arnold Surfboards Wayne Lynch 7' 9" 1007, 1968-1969 7 ft 9''
	#225 Wayne Lynch Involment John Arnold Surfboards 6' 4" WAYNE LYNCH 2416, 1970 6 ft 4''

Web Pages
Surftech
Evolutionsurf : Replica
Litmus

Books
Nat Young : History, pages 102 - 103, 115
Nat Young : Nat's Nat page 177, and following.
The Val Dusty Experiment : Litmus – A Surfing Odyssey, pages 42 to 53.
George : 40 Years of Surfer Magazine, page 38.
- An edited version of Wayne Lynch : "Digging It", an article from Volume 9 Number 6, circa 1968.
Walding : Blue Heaven, pages 65 to 71.

Magazine Articles
John Witzig : '' Wayne Lynch at 25 : A Very Experienced Surf Nazi.'' Photographs by Art Brewer
Surfer Magazine Volume 19 Number 7 November 1978. Pages 34 to 51.

Story and Photographs by Aaron Chang : '' Wayne Lynch.''
Surfing Magazine Volume 16 Number 12 December 1980. Pages 42 to 59.

'' The 25 Most Influential Surfers of the Century : 1900 - 1999.''
'' # 13. Wayne Lynch'' - by Tim Baker. Photograph by Tom Servais (see Top of this Page).
Surfer Magazine Volume 40 Number 10 October 1999. Page 209.
Also from this issue (page 128)...
Top 5 Most Influential Surf Movies : #2. Evolution, 1969.
Top 5 Greatest Surf Contests : #1. 1978 Coke Contest - 1st Larry Blair. 2nd Wayne Lynch.

Photographs and Captions by Barrie Sutherland : '' The Fish.''
Australian Longboarding Magazine Photo Annual Number 3 2000. Pages 34 to 47.

'' 16 Greatest Surfers of All Time : (#3)Wayne Lynch.''
Surfing Magazine Volume 40 Number 10 October 2004. Pages 94-95.

Magazine Advertisements

Film (Appearances)
Evolution Paul Witzig,1969

Evolution THE ART OF LONGBOARDING Wayne Lynch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhpWMSTD7Gg

Sea of Joy Paul Witzig,1971.

Sea of Joy Trailer (1971)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHksWGeklUA

The Fantastic Plastic Machine, Eric Blum, 1968
On Any Morning 1974 David Sumpter,
Surfabout '75, 1975
Fall Line 1979 Nat Young,
Fantasea, 1979.
A Day in the Life of Wayne Lynch, 1978

Mark Richards, Wayne Lynch, PT & Rabbit Surf Bells Beach Early 80's
Ross Myers: 1979 Bells contest, won by PT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-WgloW-vMA

Storm Riders, 1982
Legends, 1994
For details, see Thoms : Surf Movies

Cyrus Sutton: Another Day in the Life of Wayne Lynch - Korduroy Specials
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HACRo3ZzEQ

Skuff TV Surf | Wayne Lynch Australian Living Legend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THGvNknYitM

Notes from a Personal Interview : 10 March 2005.

The following notes are from a personal interview at a promotional appearance by Robert August, Wingnut and Wayne Lynch for SurftechSurfboards at the Natural Necessity Surf Shop, Gerringong NSW, 10 March 2005.
This was not the best of circumstances and the information was obtained with considerable difficulty.
Many thanks to Mr. Lynch for the information provided with remarkable good humour and honesty.
Any factual errors are mine.

Preliminary Notes
1. In the period up to 1960, surfboard riding was still largely centred around the Surf Life Saving Clubs.
2. The fibreglassed Malibu board was introduced to the public at the International Surf Life Saving Carnival, Torquay Beach, Victoria on 25th November 1956.
3. Pre-1967 all the surfboard manufacturers (and most surfers) were located in Melbourne and not on the Victorian coast.

Early Surfing - Lorne, Victoria.
A childhood fascination with the ocean covered all surfing experiences - body surfing, Surf-o-planes, plywood belly boards and surfboards.
The limited family finances precluded the purchase of a board, but Wayne was able to borrow and ride many of the boards used by other Lorne surfers, such as Geoff/Jeff Tune and Alan 'Squeeky' Clissold.
This was encouraged as he showed exceptional ability and dedication at this early age.
Originally ambidextrous, he questioned a class-mate and was advised to "put your right foot forward" - thus becoming a goofy-footer.

First Surfboard, 1962.
One of a bulk order of five, Wayne's first board was a solid balsa wood and fibreglass board supplied by Arthur Milner in Melbourne.
It was approximately 9 ft 6''.
Editor's Notes:
Although foam was making inroads into Australian manufacturing at this time, production difficulties encouraged some builders to stay with the proven product.
For a similar example, see #24.
After 1956 Milner was the first Australian surfboard manufacturer to source balsa wood directly from South America and was the supplier to the Sydney manufacturers.
The restricted availability lead to the application of hollow board construction to the Malibu design - the Okinuee.

Advertisement : Arthur Milner & Co. Pty. Ltd.
The Victorian Surfer
March 1963 Volume 1 Number 3
Minerva Publishing Co. Pty. Ltd.
17 Elizabeth Street Melbourne.
Page 76.

Second Surfboard, 1963.
A foam board with multi-stringers and nose and tail blocks, shaped by Max Gill at
Gill Surfboards, 106 - 108 Clarendon Street South Melbourne Victoria.

First Contest Win, 1963.
Wayne travelled to Phillip Island with a group of Lorne surfers for a contest conducted by the Surf Life Saving Club.
To the consternation of the officials, he won the Open event at age 11.
Apart from beating surfers who were significantly older than him, this was an administrative nightmare because at this age he was ineligible for SLSC membership.
As a compromise he awarded the trophy for "Wave of the Day".

Surfing the Australian Coast, 1962 - 1967.
An obvious talent, Wayne was mentored by many older surfers and travelled extensively.
As well as the previously noted Geoff/Jeff Tune and Alan 'Squeeky' Clissold from Lorne, Victoria's top surfer, Rod Brooks was a significant supporter.
As most recognised surfers of the day were natural-footers (and most Victorian breaks righthanders) John Monie, a goofy-foot from NSW's Central Coast, was a major influence.
By 1967 Wayne had amassed a wealth of surfing experience from South Australia to Queensland, and by this time had ridden most of the recognised breaks and been exposed to the cream of Australian surfing talent.

Wayne Lynch, Lorne, 1964.

Wayne Lynch, Bells Beach
20th June 1965.

Photo: Barrie Sutherland
Pacific Longboarder Magazine
Volume 2 Number 2 page 51
1997.

Looking down on the left shore-break from the picnic area provides great action for surfers, tourists etc. Brilliant Wayne Lynch cranks a turn. Lorne, 1966. Photograph by Barrie Sutherland. Surfabout Volume 3 Number 7, January 1967, page 9.
*Lorne Point and local surfer,* Wayne Lynch, in a beautiful relaxed style on the inside rail, 1966. Photograph by Barrie Sutherland. Surfabout Volume 3 Number 7, January 1967, page 9.

First Personally Shaped Board, 1967. Image below.
7 ft x 23 inches @ 12 inches Nose 17 inches. Tail 17 3/4 inches
Vee bottom design, shaped and glassed at Fred Pyke Surfboards, Torquay - the first of the Victorian manufacturers to re-locate to the coast.
A variation on the standard Vee-bottom Stubby design by Farrelly-McTavish of the period (for example see #168 and following entries) it featured an extensive vee bottom, wide tail with accented corners and a small square
tail (3''?) - obscured in the photograph by the grass.
The design was intended to greatly accent the vertical manoeuvrability of the board (as later articulated by Bob McTavish in his 1967-8 article "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND CHILDREN OF THE SUN.."
An unusal feature is the laminated fin box where the fin is fixed by a cardboard or paper wedges.
The red fin (as shown) is the second fin used in the board. The original one was, not unsurprisingly, lost.
The Jimi Hendrix influenced art work by Simon Buttershaw was added to the board at a later date..

Photograph by Bob Smith. Australian Long Boarding Number 19 January/February 200? page 59

Wayne Lynch, Windansea Invitational Surfing Contest,
Long Reef, November 1967.
Photograph John Witzig.
Surf International
Volume 1 Number 3, page 24 .
February 1968.

See: Witizig, John & Brien, Lester:
Windansea Invitational Surfing Contest.
"Australian Junior Champion, Wayne Lynch, qualified for the Semi Finals but had to return to Victoria for examinations", page 23.

Wayne Lynch
and first personally shaped board
Southside Bells
March 1968
Photograph : Barrie Sutherland
From : Australian Longboarding Magazine
Photo Annual Number 3 Page 42
2000

Wayne Lynch Invovlment Model - John Arnold Surfboards, 1968.
By 1968 Wayne Lynch had sponsorship from John Arnold Surfboards (and O'Neill Wetsuits) in Adelaide where the Wayne Lynch Involvment (note the incorrect spelling) model was produced.
Wayne Lynch production models for John Arnold Surfboards were shaped by in-house by the very skilled Wayne Dale, Sig Kwiatkowski and later, Kym Thompson. For an example, circa 1969, see #103 below.
Despite this board having the pencil markings : "Wayne Lynch 7' 9" 1007", Wayne indicated that this does not confirm that this board was shaped by himself.

Two noted boards were shaped by Wayne at the Adelaide factory...
Board 1 was ridden at the 1968 Bells Beach contest (Junior, First place)...

Wayne Lynch, Bells Beach, Easter 1968.
Nat's Nat, page185.
Incorrectly dated " circa '66 "

Wayne Lynch, Bells Beach, Easter 1968 + Tracks.
Surf International
Volume 1 Number 8, page 20.

Wayne Lynch at Bells Beach Contest, Easter 1968.
Surf International
Volume 1 Number 6.

Right : Wayne Lynch and Board, Bells Beach, Easter 1968.
Photograph : John Witzig
Australian Longboarding
Number 30 Page 53. 2003

However due to the lightweight construction (and heavy use?) the board deteriorated quickly and was replaced by Board 2, also shaped by Wayne at the Adelaide factory.
This board became renowned for Wayne Lynch's performance in the opening sequences of Paul Witzig's Evolution - Autumn in Victoria, shot at Bells Beach, Southside and Lorne.

Australian Titles, Sydney, 1968.

Evolution Poster, 1970.
featuring
Wayne Lynch
South Palm Beach
Australian Titles 1968
Photograph by John Pennings

Nat was apparently less than
impressed with the order of the cast.

A later edition of the poster
added a series of dashes as an ''S''
- tracing the wake and anticipating
the next bottom turn.

The board was ridden at the 1968 Australian Championships on Sydney's Northern beaches - again the first placed junior.
Although footage of this competition was not included in Evolution, a still by John Pennings shot at Palm Beach was used as the poster shot for the film.

The board(s) also appeared in and on the cover of Jeff Carter's Surf Beaches of Australia’s East Coast (1968).
Left:
Keith Paull (1968 Australian Chamion) goes right and Wayne Lynch (1968 Australian Junior Champion) goes left.
Further shots from this session, probably shot in the lead up to the 1968 Australian Titles at The Gardens Narrabeen, are reprinted pages 121 to 128 and also include Nat Young, Midget Farrelly and Ted Spencer.

Wayne Lynch, Surfing World
v10 n6 1968 June, page 5.

Australian Titles, Sydney, 1968.

Wayne Lynch, Long Reef.

Surf International
Volume 1 Number 7, June 1968, page 23

All photographs by John Witzig.
P.

Most spectactular ride of the contest- Lynch.

Page 24.

The maestro from the south, Lynch again. Page 30.

Wayne Lynch backs off the breaking wave at Palm Beach.
Page 31.

Untitled.
Surf International
Volume 1 Number 7, page 12.
June 1968.

Just Lynch again,
on one of the best back hand turns
of the contest.

Surf International
Volume 1 Number 7, page 27.
June 1968.

All photographs by John Witzig.
.

Lynch on his backhand at Long Reef.
Surfing World, Volume 10 Number 6, 1968. page 40.

Wayne Lynch: Bells Beach Contest, Easter 1968.
Cover: Surfing World, Volume 10 Number 6, 1968.

Photographs by Albert Falzon.

John Arnold Surfboards:
Wayne Lynch Involvment Advertisement.

Surf International
Volume 1 Number 9 page 3,
January 1969.?

1968 Wayne Lynch : France, 1968.
Surf International Vol. 1. No. 11 January 1969 pages 10-13.

Wayne Lynch, La Barre,
France, 1968
Photograph : [Paul Witzig?]

Surfing
Volume 20 Number 3, page 92 ,
March 1984.

The bulk of Evolution documented surfing by Wayne Lynch (and Ted Spencer and Nat Young) in Europe, North Africa, the 1968 World Contest in Puerto Rico, South Australia and 1969 Australian Titles at Margret River, Western Australia.
Wayne noted that...
1. This was a period of rapid advances in board design (the film shows him riding eight different boards).
2. The 1968 contest was a marvellous international mix of styles and designs.
3. Contests in this era were firmly focused on big wave performance.
4. While Australian surfers were probably the most advanced in small waves, the Hawaiians, for example Joey Cabell, set the benchmark in surf over 10 feet.
Returning to Australia via Hawaii, this was further demonstrated by performance of the then little-known Barry Kanaiaupuni.

Wayne Lynch:
West Coast Victoria, 1969.

Surf International
Volume 2 Number 11.
Photographs : [John Witzig?]

Wayne Lynch ,
Australian Titles,
Margaret River, 1969.
Photograph by John Witzig

- Young: Nat's Book of Surfing
(1979) page 68
Incorrectly captioned as
" Honolua Bay...1968... ''

Wayne Lynch production models for John Arnold Surfboards were shaped by in-house by the very skilled Wayne Dale, Sig Kwiatkowski and later, Kym Thompson. For an example, circa 1969, see #103 below.
Despite this board having the pencil markings : "Wayne Lynch 7' 9" 1007", Wayne indicated that this does not confirm that this board was shaped by himself.

Wayne Lynch

Surfing World
Number 81 Volume 14 Number 3
1970

Wayne Lynch

Unusual J.A. Surf Machine Dragon (?) decal and board photographs,
thanks to Mike Brown South Australia, July 2020.

Markings: Wayne Lynch 6'8" BC

Simplex Fin-box.

Surfing World
Volume 15 Number 5,
December 1971.

Shaun Tomson: Backhand penetration. Wayne Lynch : Similar vectors.

Surf (Florida), Spring 1977, Volume 1 Number 2 page 34.
Photos : Lance Trout

Wayne Lynch - switchfoot reef dance without legrope.
Alan Oke Conest Final, Blacks Reef, Phillip Island, Victoria.1977
Photograph by Peter Crawford
Surfing World, Volume 25 Number 3 July 1977, page 62.

Wayne Lynch: Rip Curl Stinger, 1975.

1971 Pintail Keel

1975 Surfabout Contest Sydney
1st Wayne Lynch [1865] $3500
2nd Mark Richards [1830]

Backdoor Number 1 December 1975, page 25.

Surfabout Coke Contest 1978
1st Larry Blair
2nd Wayne Lynch

Also Shane Steadman

sLynch1978_Surfabout_Comp_Shane_Blair_Brewer

Other memorable Coke match-ups include the Larry Blair/Wayne Lynch tube-duel final in 1978 - listed by Surfer magazine in 1999 as one of the Top Five Greatest Surf Contests.

At this point the group were preparing to head north, hoping to surf that afternoon at The Farm.
A few brief comments were able to be squeezed in....
Twin Fins - no interest and no experience of this design.
Leg Ropes - major impact on crowds and facilitated development of much lighter boards.
Tinkler Tails - interesting development, used Tri Fin model.
Simon Anderson's Thruster - saw an early (1980?) Energy Thruster model owned by Victorian surfer, Warren Powell who rode it to sixth place at the 1981 Pro-Junior (10 -11th and 17 -18th January, Narrabeen).
Warren Powell competed at Bells 1981 with fellow Lorne surfer, Wayne Lynch, in a Legends vs. The World demonstration event.
Wayne was impressed enough to order three boards from Simon Anderson.
Previous experience with early 1970's Tri Fin designs indicated the potential of Simon's fin set-up (note Tinkler Tail comments).

Wayne Lynch Evolution Surfboards

1998? Wayne Lynch Evolution 6’9”

Surfing Volume 16 Number 12 December 1980
Photograph by Aaron Chang.
The photographs were "exclusive" because Wayne refused
to allow photographers to document and publicly expose these locations.

surfresearch.com.au

Geoff Cater (2004-2022) : Surfer : Wayne Lynch.

http://www.surfresearch.com.au/sLynch_Wayne.html

There is probably not much i can tell you about this board, apart from that the original Wayne Lynch Involvment surfboard circa '67 is most probably 1968-1969.

In early 1968, Wayne Lynch secured sponsorship from John Arnold Surfboards (and O'Neill Wetsuits) in Adelaide where the Wayne Lynch Involvment (note the incorrect spelling) model was produced from 1968 to 1971.

The boards were available, according to magazine advertising, in "All states of Australia - East and West coast USA - England - France."
The photograph of Wayne Lynch carving it up during the Shortboard Revolution , by Leroy Grannis, is taken during the heats of the 1968 World Contest, held at Domes, Puerto Rico.
The Early Wayne Lynch Involvment ad, is from Surf International Volume 1 Number 9 page 3, January 1969, the photograph probably by John Witzig and taken early in 1968, also note the fin has been replaced or otherwise adjusted.

Unfortunately, the pencil markings, W. Lynch 8' 93" 952, do not confirm that the board was, in fact, shaped by Wayne.
The early Wayne Lynch production models for John Arnold Surfboards were shaped by in-house by "the very skilled" Wayne Dale and Sig Kwiatkowski.
Wayne noted that while boards of this period regularly have pencil markings with his name, these does not confirm that a board was shaped by himself. (Wayne Lynch personal interview, Gerringong NSW, 10 March 2005).
The non-period (five years two early) resin leash loop was most likely added at the time of the refurbisment-restoration, that very wisely left the patina.
Fin systems have always been part of surfboard evolution, and this is an example of one of the first widely available designs, in this case either a Waveset or a Safeset fin, with the brand name usually molded on the fin base and inside the box.