Morning of the Earth at the Watch House

Yonder film night in Tynemouth! All welcome!

This 1972 surf film by Albie Falzon doesn’t focus on female surfers, in fact, it doesn’t include any female surfers...why are we screening it then?

Well, it’s the most iconic surf film of all time. It’s the pure source; the bottled essence of discovery, adventure, surfing as a counter cultural experience. It’s the spiritual textbook for single fin surfing.

For us; there has been no bigger influence.

Now it’s been professionally remastered, 50 years after its release and we want to share it with the community. You’re going to love it. It’s a cult classic for a reason.

Tickets on at 8PM Thursday 4th August 2022.

It’ll be £7 a ticket, bring your own booze and a really special night at the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade Watch House on the Spanish Battery in Tynemouth which is an incredible space.

Stay tuned for the rest of the blog if you want to hear a Morning of the Earth related Yonder story, if not…thanks for reading and we’ll see you at the Watch House!

The exterior and Interior of the historic TVLB Watch House in Tynemouth. A still active Volunteer Life Brigade and museum on the Spanish Battery in Tynemouth with views over the river Tyne and the ancient Priory.

Story Time…

This is Michael Peterson; this is the most iconic screen grab of any forehand cut back in the history of surfing in many peoples eyes. This is the blueprint for stylish surfing. Of course its from Morning of the Earth.

Fast forward to the 2020s and Australian style master Torryn Martin is clogging up every surfers Instagram and YouTube feeds; everybody is surfing twin pins. High-performance surfing is still celebrated of course, but style is in the forefront of peoples minds. Martin is riding surfboards from Australian shaper Simon Jones of Morning of the Earth surfboards. There is the direct lineage between 1972, Michael Peterson and rest of the cast of morning the Earth and the style of surfing held in high regard to this day. They weren’t surfing twin pins in morning of the Earth in 1972, there were surfing single fins.

Andrew Kidman, esteemed surf filmmaker, made a film with seven time world champion Stephanie Gilmore. He had Dave Parmenter, husband of the late great Rell Sunn, to shape Steph a diamond tail six channel single fin in the style of that that Michael Peterson was surfing in the morning of the Earth.

All of this lineage caught my imagination, I loved the way Steph was surfing that single fin in the clips I saw from Kidman; I loved the Parmenter shapes and I loved Morning of the Earth, so I commissioned Glenn Nary to shape me a 6’2 channel diamond tail single fin to take to the right hand point breaks of Morocco, the closest waves we have to the Australian points like Kirra surfed in Morning of the Earth. Here’s a shot of me on that board with a resin panel inspired by a board Gerry Lopez’s son Alex made for Steph in the Electric Acid Board Test.

I’m no Steph or MP of course, but I love the style and take huge inspiration from it as you can see. I can’t wait to see Morning of the Earth again and bask in its beauty!

https://www.liquidsaltmag.com/andrew-kidman-single