Margo Godfrey and the Hansen Hull Legacy...
Looking at pro surfing these days -- men's or women's -- it's hard to imagine that a top tier surfer would ride a flat rocker, rolled bottomed hull...with the fin set over a foot up from the tail!
But that was the case back in 1968, when Margo Godfrey (Oberg) won the World Contest in Puerto Rico with a board, and riding styl,e that any hull surfer would appreciate...
Footage of Margo riding that board can be found at this link. Click on the video on the upper left.
She's riding her Hansen hull at the the :26 second mark. All the trimming and turning is done from the middle of the board...very cool stuff.
Also, at the :40 second mark, you can see Reno with a fin-up mini gun!
Hansen didn't have a radical image, but they were building some really nice hulls back in the day.
Check out this transition era Hansen Pintail. The board is crude by today's standards, but the Cardiff gang understood small wave hull fin placement...
Most California builders didn't...
Rusty Miller carving on a Hansen hull...
And how about these bitchin' big wave hulls Mike Doyle and Rusty Miller rode at Sunset in 1969 !
Another forgotten memory is Gerry Lopez's involvement with Hansen around '69. He was building and riding S-Deck hulls sporting the Hansen label...
Here's Horacio De Seixas with a restored transition era Hansen gun...
Getting back to Margo's board...I don't know who shaped it, but Kurt Ledterman was in the bay when it was built, and directed a lot of the design's nuances. Kurt had a genuine respect for women's surfing. He and Margo remained good friends for many years to come.
Kurt was a stout surfer, with enormous style and wave knowledge. He flourished on D fin longboards...and continued to ride them during the 10 plus years when they were completely out of fashion.
Sadly, we lost Kurt earlier this year. Obits here and here.
(Three guesses why Kurt's nickname was "Archie" down at The Shores!)
--- Paul Gross
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