Surf Leashes

Prior to leashes introduction in 1971, surfers who fell off their boards had to swim to retrieve them with runaway boards being an inconvenience to the surfer and a danger to other surfers. Santa Cruz resident Pat O'Neill (son of surfer Jack O'Neill, inventor of the O'Neill Wetsuit) is credited with inventing the surf leashes. His initial designs consisted of surgical cord attached to a board with a suction cup. At the 1971 Malibu international surfing competition, Pat offered Bodyboard leashes to his competitors in the event. Consequently he was disqualified from the event for wearing his Surf leash, dubbed a kook cord by those at the event however over the next year, the Surf leashes became a ubiquitous tool in the surfing world. Pat's father, Jack O'Neill, lost his left eye in a surf leashes accident as the surgical tubing used in the early designs allowed the leash to overstretch, causing the surfboard to fly back towards the surfer. Subsequent cords were made with less elastic materials such as bungee cords.