The 70's was the bestest decade for surfing.

Yes it was.

No sups, lol.

No longboards (wrongboards) cause that era ended 12 o'clock 1969.

Only shortish boards in the water.

There were kneeboards of course, no contest.

No boogers cause they weren't invented yet.

Oh what a decade that was.

90's for me.
Less crowds.No surf schools.Sharks not protected. Better banks

And no decent weather forecasts..

mousetrap said..
And no decent weather forecasts..

Pfffft ....marine weather reports...nightly news etc

Was everything still black and white in those old days?

Late eighties early nineties
Wetties were good
Boards were good
There were tracks to 90%
Of places and mid week treks to places within an hour were still rewarded with empty line ups
Mid nineties were even better
When i got my Toyota Corona go anywhere stunt mobile station wagon

Ricardo1709 said..
Weather!!! Ever heard of a synoptic chart pretty easy to read and they are still here today as they were back then

Yep, more accurate than seabreeze lol

Fark the 70's I was in primary school.
The 80's had Kong nuf said

Everyone is tripping 'the now' is the best time...

Overcrowding, urban sprawl, lost etiquette, drops ins, blow ins, online surf reports, facebook surf reports, Instagram surf reports, Snapchat reports...grommets that rip small waves and charge big ones, sharks eating everyone in the water, state of the art wetsuits/boards/leggies/wax, freeways to most waves, 24h servos, $5 coffees & $10 sandwiches..

This is living

On a serious note though I cannot claim to know anything other than the mid 90's to now but each era seems to have had its hey day, 10 years is a long time in Oz history. Seems like for every 2 x advancements or improvements there is a backwards step somewhere.

Is there anything wrong with me still wearing my skate shoes , loose jeans and a T ? No way will you ever get me in all this tight , short gay metro crap! Bloody hipsters

Bring on the wave pools to the general public
And if it's run right the best time will be now

70's was perfect for many aspect like others Seabreezers pointed on, unless one thing: the use of paddle , I reckon that those big single surfboards would be more "go for it" with the use of paddle.
Just a personal opinion, I'm not proselyte , just practical.

Nope, the early 2000's. Middle age, money in the bank, surf trip.
The proper kind of surf trip to a warm water paradise, empty line ups, boat to take you back for dinner, simple food, comfy bed chill atmosphere. Then the word got out.

THESE are the gold old days!

Slip slop slap has a lot to answer for. It seems topless is a thing of the past.

...sigh...

'70...joined and drummed out of the USARMY....but it took 13 months and a 1Y.
Bought a Montesa Scorpion 250, then a CZ 250, broke tib/fib first race at Carnegie Park, 6 screws, wire, plate.
Rehabbing, met George Orbellion, future surfboard design editor for Surfer Mag, and surfed with him maybe 400 days the following 3 years.
Worked for Harry Hunt Yamaha, Team Yamaha, sold Dunlop Triangulars and broke them in on various bikes, including Team Suzuki.
Took up tennis in '74.
Worked for FTC Sports in '75, Ski Shop employee and strung racket's.
Still surfing mostly Ocean Beach San Francisco about 70 days a year, the other 100 up and down the coast of California.
Epic 4 month stay on the North Shore, saw Booby get tubed at Wiamea...eating KuiAini burger from the shore, after surfing it in the morning.
Got a job driving night Taxi in San Francisco, first at Veterans, then DeSoto Cab.
Raced over 200 motocross races, 125, 250, Open, but never any good. Did make Vet Pro by second year, and 125 Expert.
Started part time at Wise Surfboards in San Francisco.
Still surfing 4 days a week, until 1985.