This half-scale surf boat was probably built in Accra in 1957. It was used by a local racing crew, representing Liverpool’s Elder Dempster Line, in a regatta to celebrate Ghana’s Independence on 6 March 1957.  The boat was donated to Merseyside Maritime Museum by Elder Dempster later that year.
Surf boats were used to carry cargo to and from ships anchored off the West African coast, as there were no dock facilities in Ghana until 1965. The crews – drawn from the Fante communities of southern Ghana – were highly skilled to be able to handle the boats in the breaking waves of the beaches.

Racing surf boat | National Museums Liverpool

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This half-scale surf boat was probably built in Accra in 1957. It was used by a local racing crew, representing Liverpool’s Elder Dempster Line, in a regatta to celebrate Ghana’s Independence on 6 March 1957. The boat was donated to Merseyside Maritime Museum by Elder Dempster later that year. Surf boats were used to carry cargo to and from ships anchored off the West African coast, as there were no dock facilities in Ghana until 1965. The crews – drawn from the Fante communities of southern Ghana – were highly skilled to be able to handle the boats in the breaking waves of the beaches.

Racing surf boat

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