Seaside Vacations

  The Outer Banks has a long history of great surf and great surfers.  Two of today’s professional surfers, Noah Snyder and Jessie Hines, refined their techniques as OBX groms.  But a surf culture is more than just the guys paddling in the water.  In addition to the support of Mother Nature, a local surf culture requires the support of local businesses, and Whalebone Surf Shop has made countless contributions to the thriving Outer Banks surf scene.  Every surf town needs a quality surf shop and Whalebone fits this description well.  But more than providing quality equipment, Whalebone has offered support to local surfers, many of whom need sponsorships to survive.  Much thanks goes out to Whalebone owner Jim Vaughn.

Jim Vaughn left his South Florida home in 1974 in pursuit of the surfer’s dream; lots of waves and a schedule conducive to riding those waves.  Jim ended up on the Outer Banks and opened Whalebone Surf Shop; the rest is surfing legend. 

The original shop was opened in 1975 in an old house near Whalebone Junction, thus the start of “Whalebone”.  The Whalebone logo, skull and crossbones, is an OBX mainstay.  Given the Outer Banks’ pirate history and great surfing conditions, combining the two is nothing short of genius.  “Our logo has been good to us.  I wanted to capture this area.  Plus, I think everyone has a little pirate in them,” Jim commented in a recent article.  Bob Hurley, founder of Hurley Enterprises, has this to say about Jim, “I’ve never met a more stoked surfer.  He has inspired and nurtured (and tortured) countless groms and is funny as heck.  Without guys like Jim, people like me do not exist. He loves his sport and works awfully darn hard.  In fact, he is even more relevant today than the day he started surfing.”

Today, Whalebone Surf Shop has locked in two key Mid-Atlantic locations.  Between the two shops Jim has managed to maintain a stock of 350-400 surfboards from World renowned shapers such as: Al Merrick, JS, JC, Bill Johnson, Sharp Eye, Surftech, Chili, Stretch, and many more.