The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
Hundreds of surfboards will slice through the surf today as the East Coast Surfing Championships begin. This is the story of a board that came before them.
The first board.
It belonged to James M. Jordan Jr. - Big Jim, to his friends. The Norfolk native moved to the Beach around 1918. He taught accounting and coached football at the old Oceana High School.
He didn't surf. Nobody here did. Until his rich uncle, Walter F. Irvine, sent a gift.
A plank of wood he saw on a round-the-world cruise. In Hawaii, people rode them through the waves. Odd, yes, but Irvine thought his nephew might like it.
The first recognized board on the East Coast was monstrous. Twelve to 15 feet long, most likely. Solid redwood. And easily more than 100 pounds.
Judging from a grainy photo, Big Jim likely whittled a few feet off the top, taking it from a bulbous tip to an oversized arrowhead.
Maybe he took the novelty into the water a few times, grandson Shep Jordan thinks. After storms, probably, when the surf could buoy the bloated board.
Then, it hid in storage at a North End home, where it sat undisturbed for decades. Years later, Shep asked what happened to the board.
His father answered simply, with no regret.
"I think we chopped it up and used it for firewood."
Richard Quinn, (757) 222-5119, richard.quinn@pilotonline.com
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