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Tom
Blake 1994
Today's acrobatic cutbacks, aerials, and awesomely-long
tube rides are the direct result of Tom Blake's extraordinary
design prowess, specifically fastening a fin onto a surfboard.
This
engineering visionary experimented with all sizes and
shapes of boards and effected a 25 percent weight reduction
in the boards of his day. In 1930, Blake invented the
first water houslng used for surf photography. That year
he also attached a sail to a surfboard -- possibly the
first windsurfer?
He made a collapsible surfboard that weighed only nine
pounds. One of his boards is displayed in the Smithsonian;
his feats have also been written up in multiple issues
of National Geographic; and is the only person to have
been inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame. Blake surfed
waves up to 15 feet on boards that most surfers of our
day could not even carry. |
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©SURFING
WALK OF FAME |
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