Browse Items (56 total)

  • Collection: Oral History Collection

The Bailey brothers grew up in St. Augustine surfing at the Pier, Blowhole, and Vilano Beach. Surfing shaped the childhood and young adulthood of each brother. The Baileys, discussed the health benefits of surfing, international surfing, altercations…

Bert Tavary started surfing at age twelve in Galveston, Texas on the Gulf of Mexico. After graduating from high school, he spent four years in the Navy. He moved back and forth between California and Florida, surfing anywhere he could. He described…

Bill Conner first starting coming to St. Augustine as a child to visit his grandparents. He surfed in the late 1950s with his uncle and brothers. He moved to Australia in 1970. He discussed surf etiquette in Florida and Australia, his friendships in…

Brandi Schmidt attended Flagler College, and moved to St. Augustine Beach to have better access to the surf. She began surfing Eastern Surfing Association contests and then the Op Pro. She discussed her family’s surfing background, her first board,…


Brooks Bailey talks about his father, Mark, teaching him how to surf, his favorite surf spots in St. Augustine, and trips he has taken to Costa Rica.

Since the 1970s, Burgess Autrey has lived near Vilano Beach, his favorite spot to surf. He discussed his surfboard business, the Vilano Indians, Fourth of July surf competitions, the St. Augustine Longboard Club, being a Regional Director for the…

Casey and Dan Stahr discuss the Vilano Indians, their favorite surf spots around the world, Zealand Stahr (Casey’s son), and the future of the surf community in St. Augustine.

Chris Ropero discussed how his father got him into surfing, his use of the Blue Sky Surf Shop, his favorite surf spots in St. Augustine, and a few hurricane swells that he’s experienced.


Chris Way came to St. Augustine in second grade. As a pre-teen he began surfing, looking up to older teenaged surfers. He discussed territorialism on the beaches, surfing and travel, other water sports surfers engage in, and how surfing has…

David Banfield moved to St. Augustine when he was a child, and started surfing when he was 12. He attended Florida Southern University, studied abroad in Spain, and acquired a position with Florida East Coast Railway, in Miami. Banfield discussed…

In his youth, David Farina spent time in surf shops to learn how to shape boards. At age 19, Surfing Magazine ranked him among America’s Top 30 “Up and Coming” shapers. Farina moved to St. Augustine and started Zion Surf Company. He sells Farina…

Dennis "Biddy" Hunter, was born and raised in St. Augustine. He became one of the first people to bring surfing to the community in the 1960s. He entered surfing contests, and continued surfing professionally from 1967 to 1996. He also won the…


Elaine Davis is a legend in St. Augustine surfing history. At eight years old she moved to Florida with her family and started surfing around the age of fourteen. She attended Flagler College and then moved to Hawaii to pursue surfing for ten…

Eric Norton discussed his first surfboard, bought and shipped from California. He also spoke about some of his surfing influences and what it was like to surf around the St. Augustine Pier in the 1970s.


Eric Searcy discussed his early years surfing in Ponte Vedra Beach. He also spoke about some of his favorite surf spots in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, and the annual surf trips he takes to North Shore, Hawaii.
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