For many of us in the States, traveling to Cuba is forbidden by the Government and the opportunity to learn about surf and culture in Cuba is rare. Our friend Bob Samin sent in these photos showing fun surf and the local surf crew in Cuba.

During the late 80s and 90s the only surfboards in cuba where left behind buy generous foreign surfers , the U.S embargo and the small cuban salary led to a determined surf culture .
Boards where made by stripping old refrigerators for their foam then the pieces would be glued together to form a blank . The board shape would be copied from a board that had been left behind and the outline cut out with a saw .


The boards form would be shaped using an old "cheese grater" then smoothed with sand paper. Fiberglass would be scrounged from local boat yards and these heavy off cuts would be glassed on in pieces & sanded off to a smooth finish .
This method can still be found in cuba today by young surfers wanting to surf their own boards.





Here is Acociacion De Surfistas De Cuba President and Shaper Eduardo Valdes