First Florida Shape Off Board Added to FSM Collection

Paul Eaton, founder and organizer of the annual Florida Shape Off competition, has donated the winning surfboard from the first shape off in 2008. The event is a competition that challenges the industry’s finest craftsmen to duplicate as closely as possible a selected board for each year. Paul decided to organize the event after going with Ricky Carroll to the Sacred Craft shape off in California in 2007. Ricky Carroll had won that event three times before retiring (he wanted to give the west coast guys a break). Ricky is now the head judge for the Florida event which is held yearly at the Surf Expo in Orlando.

This board was a tribute to respected shaper Robert Strickland, who passed away in 2002, and is a copy of the Skip Savage Conrail model. Juan Rodriquez of One World Surfboards in Sarasota was the winner against stiff competition that included Dave Dedrich, Tom Neilson, George Robinson, Stu Sharpe and Bill Eberwein- a who’s who of Florida shapers.

This board, along with an amazing collection of historic surfboards, is currently on display at the Florida Surf Museum.