Magic Sam was a short-lived yet essential design in the history of the surfboard – a transition model. Deeply influenced by his friends and fellow futurists Bob McTavish and George Greenough, and borrowing extensively from Velzy’s Pig template, Australian Nat Young designed and shaped Magic Sam in early 1966, taking it to California to win the World Title on later that year. Magic Sam was a tool for what the trio referred to as “total involvement surfing”, a step-change away from noseriding as the pinnacle of performance and towards more extreme manoeuvres. Beyond design developments, the Magic Sam model also established the role that Australian surfers and shapers played in the world of surfing – a boost that inspired their generation to dive further into experimentation that would lead in a short time to the shortboard revolution.
Magic Sam adopted the fundamental features of Velzy’s Pig design: a curved outline with a rounded nose that was narrower than the tail and the wide point set back from the board’s midpoint. At 9’4” long and 22” wide, Sam also retained the Pig’s square tail shape, flat deck, rolled bottom, and thin soft-turned-egg rails – all of which were features aimed at facilitating turning.
Manufactured out of a foam blank with a ½” redwood stringer at Gordon Woods Surfboards in Brookvale, Sydney, this model’s most radical design change laid in its thickness – just below 2 1/2” in contrast to the usual 3 1/2” – which decreased the overall volume and compromised flotation and paddle ability, but aided with manoeuvrability. When combining the relatively short length with thin profile, Young created a board that was highly sensitive to redirection, sinking and biting into the face of the wave more easily.
Our third beer pays homage to Gordon Woods and Nat Young's inspirational surfing style and his incredible World Championship winning moment back in 1966. Taking place in California on the Magic Sam board he shaped in the Gordon Woods factory in Brookvale. This 6.6% Double Dry Hopped West Coast IPA (DDH WCIPA) is as big and bold as Nat's win.
Full of body and grunt, our Magic Sam DDH WCIPA could take on the world's best and we think, also come out on top! Using lots of US hops and bringing a bit of West Coast down south, this is a beer that, much like that magic board in 66, is not for the faint-hearted and is guaranteed to take anyone on the ride of their life!
Dont miss out and join us at The Magic Sam Launch Party this Sunday March 26th from 12pm at Dad & Dave's Brewery, Brookvale. Special Live Act Guest by Nat's son Beau Young - a shaper, surfer and musician.
