It’s been over two decades since I got a call from Santa Cruz surfboard builder Bob Pearson of Pearson Arrow Surfboards, asking me to accompany him to Westport, Washington.
He intended to deliver a van full of surfboards to surf shops up the coast before attending Westport’s annual surf contest.
After an uneventful eight hours, I arrived in Santa Cruz and spent the night with the Pearsons. The next morning, we loaded Bob’s van with something like 50 thrusters.
The first stops were at Northern California shops, and I was offered tours of some of the local secret spots, none of which were breaking at the time.
We unloaded boards in San Francisco, Bolinas and Eureka, all without a problem. By the time we arrived in Lincoln City, Oregon, however, there was a definite problem.
All the glass-on fins had bent due to the heat in the back of the van. Around 40 boards and many thousands of dollars hung between Pearson and the solution — taping a small, stiff board against the fins and heating them with a hairdryer.
Once the fins snapped to an upright position, we continued driving, enjoying empty beaches and stunning scenery all the way to Westport.
Once there we were treated to Pacific Northwest delicacies including fresh sockeye salmon, oysters and crab. The surf was a solid 4-5 feet, but I was unable to paddle out due to an ear infection.
Monday morning found us powering home with an empty van and a headful of memories of new friends, many with the last name Perlee, among whom was a polite young boy named Dane.
I didn’t see Dane again until about five years later when I again passed through Santa Cruz and paddled out to the aptly named Pleasure Point.
That’s where I saw Dane, now a young man and one of the best longboarders ever. Gliding with perfect style, he planted ten through section after section.
More significant than that, however, was that he was polite to everyone in the lineup, including old guys like me, who had met him only once before. He said that he had resettled in Santa Cruz where he worked as a surfboard shaper for Bob Pearson.
Some five years ago, I again encountered Dane, this time at the Moores Cancer Center Luau & Legends of Surfing Invitational where Dane surfed his team to victory on a board unlike any other in the water that day.
Dane’s “Speed Demon” design is built under his own Osprey Surfboards label. Narrow nose, wide tail, and a deep vee, they have been the talk of the contest since their arrival. Almost most every rider in the event requests to borrow one for their heat, something that Dane generously agrees to.
While I have yet to ride a Speed Demon, they are said to live up to their name by being faster than anything in the water while maintaining excellent maneuverability and noseriding capabilities.
I last encountered Dane last week in the shaping room in Bird’s Surf Shed. Apparently, he is there quite often, building boards for an increasing number of customers.
Of course, the Shed is a mandatory stop for any dedicated surfer. Legendary boards decorate walls, ceiling and floor. Some boards like twin fins and thrusters once looked strange until time proved them legit.
Will Dane’s Speed Demon still look strange in the years to come, or will it prove an advancement as worthy as twin fins, thrusters and channel bottoms? Why not try one and decide for yourself. Let me know what you think.
