Catching Waves: Surfing in Bolinas Since 1909

Surfers have been drawn to Bolinas and Stinson Beach since the early 1900s. The earliest known photograph of surfing in Bolinas shows John Parkin Jr. riding a wave in 1909. At the time, surfboards were carved from solid wood, making them heavy and difficult to maneuver.

What many people don’t realize is that Bolinas played an important role in the evolution of modern surfboards and skateboards. In the 1960s, local innovator Buzz Besozzi was at the forefront of surfboard, skateboard, and kayak design and fabrication, working right here in Bolinas. His shop became a lively gathering place for surfers, artists, and creative thinkers from across the Bay Area and beyond. Today, Buzz operates the Surf Shop on Wharf Road, where he hand-silkscreens cotton clothing.

Catching Waves: Surfing in Bolinas Since 1909 traces the stories of the men, women, elders, and young people who have shaped, sustained, and shared Bolinas’s unique surf and skate culture across generations.