Chuck Vinson Lightning Bolt

"I met Chuck Vinson in 71’ when I moved back to town and we became friends. I learned all I could from him. He was older and more experienced than me. I could never do any step as well as him, but neither could anyone else! Chuck came o the North Shore in 73’ and landed a gig making Lightning Bolts for Jack Shipley. Keep in mind that the Bolt was the number one most recognized label at the time in all of surf culture. Only 10 or 12 guys were good enough to fill the position of making Bolts. Chuck made many of the high-end Bolts that brought an extra $35 due to the quality. That was a lot of extra cash in those days. Shipley even had Vinson fill in for Gerry Lopez (the head shaper); while he was surfing Ulu, Chuck shaped his orders!

Chuck later returned to Santa Cruz where he made boards for O’Neill along with his custom orders before finally returning to Ventura with his wife Linda where he continued to build boards for his loyal followers.

I thank him for the inspiration he has given me."

–Shaper, Marc Andreini, from his forthcoming book, due out next spring entitled "The Gift."

Thank you to Chuck for donating this beautiful board, to Skip Saenger for arranging the donation, to Mark Andreini for the words and to Scott Bass to delivering it to SHACC.