The Cedar Surf: An Informal History of Surfing in British Columbia

Ann Turner is the financial and budget manager of the University of
British Columbia Library.

Surfing has long been associated with Hawaii and Southern California,
thanks to extensive movie and tourism promotion. By contrast, the wild
and unspoiled beaches on the west coast of Vancouver Island were only
recently discovered by seekers of the perfect wave, and they remained
the playground of a hardy few until the last decade. The B.C. beaches
are less accessible and welcoming than their tropical counterparts, both
in their distance from major population centres and in the year-round
chill of the water. Wetsuits are a must, but improved roads, a range of
tourist accommodations, and the promotional efforts of various
surf-based businesses are bringing increasing numbers of visitors to
catch the waves. The few original surfers of the 1950s and 1960s who
came to the area and stayed are aging. This history records their
reminiscences about the earlier times when the west coast beaches from
Jordan River to Port Renfrew and Long Beach (between Tofino and
Ucluelet) were frequently theirs alone. Their family photos illustrate
the text. Now, as the area’s economic base shifts from fishing and
forestry to recreation and tourism, their children are exploring the
business side of surfing, teaching, running surf shops, and winning
international competitions. A helpful glossary of surfing terms and a
bibliography on surfing in the area complete this original study.