Longboards and empty beaches

There was a time when the beaches of Hilton Head Island felt almost untouched. There were miles of shoreline where you could walk for half a day and never see another soul. The wind moved through the sea oats and the Atlantic rolled in slow, steady lines toward a quiet island that still felt wild.
For a small group of surfers in the early 1970s, those empty beaches became their world.

Back then, the surf scene on Hilton Head was tiny. Just a handful of people who knew each other and shared the same simple routine: watch the ocean, grab a board and paddle out when the conditions looked right.

Mike Lynes had grown up on the island and knew those beaches well. Around that same time, Rick Lawson arrived, along with Nanci Polk-Weckhorst, who would become one of the most influential figures in the island’s surf culture. Others drifting in and out of the lineup included Hamp Sewell and Charley Lovely, all part of that early crew that built a small but tight-knit surf community.

The boards they rode were classic longboards, often nine feet or longer. Big, heavy boards by today’s standards, but perfect for the soft, rolling Atlantic swells that reached the South Carolina coast.

And the places they surfed might surprise people today.

Sea Pines had waves. The stretch around the old William Hilton Inn on South Forest Beach broke well when the swell lined up. North Forest Beach had its moments too, along with the Shipyard area. Singleton Beach was another favorite, and back then it felt wide open and quiet.

The island itself looked very different in those days.

At Singleton Beach, some of the old houses had already washed away or been torn down, leaving reminders buried in the sand. Burkes Beach looked different, too. Today it stretches wide and clean, but in the early days pluff mud and oyster shells still scattered the shoreline.

Nanci Polk-Weckhorst remembered surfing there one day and spotting a dead wild hog on the sand while wild dogs circled nearby. It was a raw kind of place, where wildlife and ocean still met without much in between.

Though small, the Hilton Head surf scene stayed connected to the wider East Coast surf world. Surfers traveled to competitions along Florida’s east coast and to events around Charleston and Folly Beach.

Even those trips felt simpler.

Gavin Daly, part of the younger generation that followed, remembers how different it all was. At Folly Beach, a narrow sandy path often cut through the grass to the ocean, and surfers would change in the bushes before heading out.

Surfing wasn’t the only board sport catching on.

Like others across the country, the Hilton Head crew got into skateboarding, kneeboarding and eventually windsurfing, which grew popular in the 1980s. Charley Lovely, who lived in the Folly Field area and built circular staircases, took up surfing later and became heavily involved in sailboarding.

As the island grew through the late 1970s and early 1980s, so did the surf community.

A turning point came around 1984 when Nanci Polk-Weckhorst opened NanSea’s surf shop in Triangle Square. At a time when many beach businesses focused on tourists, NanSea’s was different. It was a true surf shop run by surfers for surfers.

For many local kids, it was the only place to find a quality surfboard.
Nanci also ran her custom canvas business from the shop, but NanSea’s quickly became a gathering place. She and her husband, Jerri Weckhorst, played a key role in helping the next generation get started.

They sponsored young surfers traveling to competitions, drove them to events and sometimes helped cover entry fees. More importantly, they created a sense of community.

Gavin Daly remembers Nanci as a mother figure to many younger surfers. She helped get boards into the hands of kids who wanted to surf and helped build a strong group of up-and-coming surfers through the 1980s and 1990s.

“They had a certain style and stoke about them,” he said. “You always wanted to be around them.”

The lessons they passed down went beyond surfing. They taught younger surfers to respect the beach, the water and themselves.

It wasn’t always gentle.

Byron Sewell remembers traveling to competitions and gathering around bonfires after long days in the water. That generation didn’t soften its words. They told you exactly what they thought.

It was a tougher approach, but one that shaped the younger surfers in lasting ways.

That group included Gavin and Jevon Daly, Byron Sewell, John Hagins, Mike Bishop, Murray Boughman, Wee Winn, Jeremy Lee, Pat Mills, Trent Malphrus and Reggie Delacruz, all kids who grew up watching and learning.
Wee Winn and Reggie Delacruz remember the Shipyard break particularly well. When two jetties sat out front of the old Marriott, the waves there were among the best on the island.

Reggie remembers how they handled the strong drift along the beach. They would leave a car near the old Holiday Inn, paddle out at Shipyard and surf their way down the shoreline.

“It was a lot easier than fighting the current.”

Both men say respect defined the surf community. Everyone respected those who came before them and respected each other.

Looking back, they agree on something else.

Hilton Head during those years was a special place and a special time.

Other figures helped shape the island’s board culture. John Tolly, owner of SunnyDaze Surfboards, was a well-known local surfer. Glenn Baroncini later introduced paddleboard surfing to the island.

The influence of Hilton Head’s surf culture eventually reached beyond the island.

Justin Quintal, who spent part of his early childhood on Hilton Head before moving to Florida, went on to become the World Longboard Champion in 2020.

Today, the island looks very different.

Hotels and homes stand where empty dunes once rolled toward the ocean. Families fill beaches where surfers once waited quietly for the next set.
But those who were there in the early days will tell you something hasn’t changed.

The ocean still rolls in the same way.

And the small group of surfers who first chased waves along Hilton Head’s quiet shoreline helped create a culture that carried through generations of island kids who followed them into the water.

Jerri Weckhorst passed away a few years ago, but many still remember the role he and Nanci played in building that community.

In the end, it was never just about surfing.

It was about friendships, respect for the water and the kind of memories that come from chasing waves on an island that once felt like it belonged only to the wind, the tide and a few surfers waiting on the next set.

Paul Tollefson is the Director of Tennis at the Hampton Hall Club. After moving from Hilton Head to Bluffton he became enthralled with the history of the town and the people and cultures that call it home. He has found a passion in writing and enjoys being able to share the stories and pictures of long-time locals. He is the co-creator of the Facebook page “Bluffton Then and Now.”