Classic boards drop in at Beach House’s annual event

BAY HEAD — Dozens of vintage surfboards were on display this weekend as hundreds gathered at Beach House for the spring board show. 

Beach House Classic Boardshop, 517 Main Ave., hosted its annual old surfboard display, drawing people from all over the country to view some classic boards, with some even swapping and selling the boards to each other. 

Eric Beyer, owner of the boardshop, said this building had opened in 1996, making the business 29 years old in Bay Head. 

“This is an event we run every spring and every fall, and this is our 33rd one,” said Beyer. “This is a gathering of tribes. We got guys from Rhode Island, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, from Virginia to Maine, they come from all over.”

From the overwhelming crowd of people throughout the day, residents from near and far came out to this event to engage in camaraderie, swap old stories and just enjoy each other’s company. While the winds were strong, the beautiful day did not stop anyone from coming to this event. 

One Bay Head resident, Paul Powell, told The Ocean Star, “I live a few houses away and just come to every one of these. Beach House is a really great, family-owned place that does a lot of things for the community.”

Brielle resident Miller Smyth said, “The camaraderie is like a reunion twice a year. You see people you don’t see, who grew up surfing with people you haven’t seen in 20 years and you run into them here.”

This event began years ago after a friend of Beyer’s asked him to start an event in his shop bringing together members of the surfing community. This event, in its current capacity, started roughly in 2005. 

“Surfboards right now, there are a ton of them being made overseas, not the same stuff and are way worse materials,” said Beyer. “The handmade stuff is going away. A lot of those guys are aging out. For me, this brings light to handmade surfboards.”

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