MUSEUMS
>>
FALL 2022: 73
of our house, filled with old surfboards and
memorabilia — none of which was collected, but
just acquired and kept over the years by my dad.
The real stuff, you know.”
RELUCTANT CELEBRITY
According to the younger O’Hare, his dad wasn’t
“crazy about the idea of sharing it or being
associated with starting a community museum.
He said it made him feel old and joked we’d
wheel out the old guy at any event we might have
to ask him to tell tales of his surfing adventures,
and the old days, etc.,” he added.
And he admitted there was some truth to his
dad’s jokes, as his friends and family loved
hearing these stories and were proud of the
humble person his father was and the fact he
kept them riding waves even when he couldn’t.
After he managed to save $800, which was two
month’s rent, the younger O’Hare opened a tiny
downtown shop to start the museum, of sorts.
“The space was so small one could barely turn
a longboard around,” he remembered. “But the
community loved the idea, and for months boxes
of stuff kept coming in — old magazines, photos,
trophies, even vintage surf baggies and stickers!”
RAPID GROWTH
By 2000, the museum made its way to the Natural
Art Surf Shop and the volunteer presence,
inventory and list of local events produced to
fund operations kept growing.
It was 2003 when the museum merged with
One of the most popular exhibits and events, held at the museum
in 2016, was that of well-known former world tour surfers and
Satellite Beach native twin brothers, C.J. and Damien Hobgood.
Pat O’Hare, left, and son, Sean, founder of the original Cocoa Beach Surf Museum, share a special
moment during an exhibit honoring the elder O’Hare, a Cocoa Beach iconic surfboard builder.
the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame organization, and Ron Jon became a
corporate sponsor, providing a place for shelter and exhibits as well as a
site for community events. In 2007, the missions diverged and that fall the
Cocoa Beach Surf Museum returned to its roots and continued to expand
its horizons to financially support its goals.
Among one of the first events that O’Hare and several other volunteer
members initially organized to raise funding for the museum’s initiatives
was the annual Waterman’s Challenge. Having completed its 21st year this
summer, this contest has become one that is part of history itself.
The first amateur surf event started as a nose riding longboard event, in
conjunction with Cocoa Beach’s 75th anniversary.
The next year, it expanded to include a stand up paddle contest, amateur
age divisions for surfing, and a King and Queen of the beach competition,
something O’Hare said was an idea to fall back on, just in case the waves
were flat.
“In the summer that is usually the norm, but the surfers, many who were
ESA Eastern Surf Association competitors, and affiliated with local
surfing industry businesses, joined our efforts to promote and participate,”
he said. “The local surfers always wanted to compete, and enjoyed the
rivalry amongst themselves on the waves, no matter the size.”
NAME CHANGE
In 2015, the museum widened its parameters to include the collection and
presentation for exhibits and showcase surfing history from around the
state, changing its name to the Florida Surf Museum.
The museum has multiple exhibits that include themed celebrations and