Daytona Beach, 1938: Florida Surfing Championships

Surf Spots

Joe Nuzzo- Historic Suncoast Surf Shop

Suncoast Surf Shop Shop started back in 1966 when no other surf shops existed in the St. Petersburg, Florida area. Owner Joe was going to be an airplane mechanic, only […]

Mystery Slab Appears in Volusia County

Florida Pros Revel in Man-Made Sandy Slabs

Historic Surf Contest Program Uncovered

While digging through some old surf mags in the museum storage I came across this amazing find- the program from the 1st Annual Jaycees Surferama in 1965 -which evolved into […]

An Epic Day at Sebastian Inlet – 1959

Never before in print-  a firsthand account of when two surfing legends rode Sebastian Inlet for the first time… Article by Jack “Murf the Surf” Murphey It was impossible to […]

Pensacola Surf Check- 1970’s

If you surfed Pensacola Beach in the 70’s this was a typical winter pattern, especially if you had no… Posted by Tom Hutson on Monday, September 3, 2018

Nomad Surf Shop- Passing Of A Legend

Story by Tom Warnke, Executive Director-Palm Beach County Surfing History Project/Surfing Florida Museum   Ron Heavyside passed away this Saturday, April 14th.  He had been quite well recently, but this […]

Sebastian Inlet 1990 ESA Regionals

Enjoy this video from Mitch Kaufmann featuring great longboard surfing from Yancey Spencer, Bill McMillan, Doug Deal and others- including a special appearance by Surf Bob!  

Florida’s Melbourne Beach Surf Club 1979-83

This 10 minute film features Curtis Byrd discussing The Melbourne Beach Surf Club’s early years beginning around 1979. In 1983, as part of Founder’s Day, The Pineapple Surf Contest was […]

North Florida’s Iconic Hixon’s Surf Shop

Video by Mitch Kaufmann Quote from Bill’s obituary April 24th, 2012: RIP William Hixon, 68, surf pioneer, appraiser later in life by John F. Morrison Philadelphia Daily News Bill Hixon […]

Pensacola Icon: Hutson Hardware and Surf Shop

We received this classic photo from Tom Hutson- a lifelong Pensacola surfer : “This is Hutson Hardware and Surf Shop in Pensacola. This was after my grandparents sold their hardware […]

Surfing Canaveral Shoals- The Real Story

  by Bob Freeman October, 1967 Canaveral Shoals… A small group of us were hanging out at Canaveral Jetties and discussing what the waves might be like out around the […]

Monster Hole

feature photo courtesy of Tom Dugan/ESM Most Florida surf spots are are just variations of your standard beach break- mostly distinguishable from one another by the fluctuations of swell, tide […]

Surfing Inside Canaveral Jetties

Bob Freeman’s Surfing Memories (bobfreemansurf.com)   1966 Not having a car really sucked. Back then I lived in the old Gateway apartments in Cape Canaveral, so I mostly surfed the Cheri Down […]

Hurricane Bertha Brings Surf To Central Florida, July 2008

Video by Diana Wehrell-Grabowski Footage of surf during the Hurricane Bertha Swell. Shot at four different locations in central Florida during two weekends. The swell from Hurricane Bertha was ideal […]

Sebastian Inlet- 1979

Excerpt from Pete Dooley’s video “It Was Better Back Then”.

Surfboards Hawaii Surf Shop 1968

Surfboards Hawaii Surf Shop 1968

From 1968. This was the Surfboards Hawaii shop, owned by Che Sharp. It later became the Oceanside Surf Shop and eventually the Natural Art shop. The building is still there […]

Historical Photo of Canaveral Pier with the pier extending into the distance. At the top, a large red and white sign reads: Canaveral Pier. On the left, a smaller black and white sign reads: COCOA GOOD VIBRATIONS BEACH. On the right is a Ron Jon Surfing Shop sign.

Canaveral Pier (Cocoa Beach Pier)

The Canaveral Pier is likely the most iconic surf spot in Florida along with Sebastian Inlet. Built in 1962, right when the surfing craze hit Florida, it immediately became a focal point for east coast surfing. The structure concentrated sand around it which amplified and groomed the often meager swell, contributing to Cocoa Beach’s reputation as the “Small Wave Capital of the World”.