San Clemente CA— The Surfing Heritage and Culture Center (SHACC) hosted a full house of attendees for the opening of the new Renny Yater exhibit, on Saturday November 7th.
“Renny is so widely admired throughout the surfing community for his stellar craftsmanship and shaping innovations over the past 50 years, it was no surprise that so many people attended the opening,” said Barry Haun, SHACC Creative Director and Curator. “Several other master surfboard shapers, including Robert August, Tom Morey, Gene Cooper, Randy French, Marc Andreini and Wayne Rich, came out to celebrate Yater’s career achievements and contributions to the sport.”

Sometimes described as a recluse, Yater is quiet and humble and rarely makes public appearances. At the exhibit’s opening, however, he openly shared priceless stories with a captivated and eager audience. Yater recounted his early days in the surfboard building business, working for Dale Velzy and Hobie Alter in the 1950s. He also shared recollections of how his early surfing and shaping experiences were influenced by surfboard innovator, Bob Simmons, as well as tales of early surfing trips to Hawaii, where Yater surfed empty line-ups and epic waves on Oahu’s North Shore and at pristine Honolua Bay on Maui in the early 1960s.
“A great surfer and big wave charger himself, Renny crafted beautiful boards that performed especially well at Malibu, Rincon and other point breaks,” Haun added. “His surfboards were ridden by some of the best surfers of the day, including Mickey Dora, Joey Cabell, Felipe Pomar, Kemp Aaberg, and Bob Cooper.”
Yater is perhaps best known as the creator of the Yater Spoon surfboard model. From 1965-66, the Spoon was one of the most innovative surfboard designs of the time. From 1969-72, keeping pace with the short board revolution, Yater produced the Pocket Rocket, a surfboard designed for high performance surfing.
Yater’s retail showroom at the Beach House at 10 State Street today remains the exclusive dealer of Yater surfboards in Santa Barbara. Yater’s son Lauran has been shaping since the early 1980s and is committed to upholding the high standards of the Yater label for generations to come.
The Renny Yater Exhibit will be on display at SHACC Monday – Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm through January 2016. Admission is free for SHACC members and $5 for non-members. SHACC is located 110 Calle Iglesia in San Clemente. For more information, visit www.surfingheritage.org or call (949) 388-0313.