Derek Hynd, Skip Frye board, Scotland. photo Kidman
Andrew's interview with Derek in the Surfer's Journal Vol. 11 #1 is probably one of my favourite pieces of surf journalism ever. Here's Derek talking about the young Australian's yearning for speed.
"I was woken at midnight once by a chase going down after the Pub all over the neighbourhood between a Charger cop car and a Mach 3 Kawasaki: what a classic double. They were the only sounds around and it was like an amplified dogfight. It went on and on. You wouldn't read about it- they started getting closer and my heart was thumping like crazy and it felt like a lottery win as they got to my street half a mile away, both red lining.
Had to be. The bike raged down the first hill past the house and over the rise down the next hill. He was a local for sure, heading for the bends to shake him off. The V-8 hit the rise 30 yards outside the house at ridiculous speed. I'll never forget the moments when his car left the road before the crash. Greatest thing to happen on our street- both were heroes, better than the Queen driving by in '66.'
Derek is an absolute original; brilliant, somewhat mad and still a fantastic, relevant surfer. He's been working on the finless project and I've linked the Safe To Sea blog over there, it's a great read and he's involved in making the Musica Surfica film.
2 comments:
Derrick Hynd is a great writer also. His piece on finless designs in the latests Surfer's Journal is somewhat reminiscent of Dora's finer moments as a scribe.
Come on now about Derek...there isn't anything plain that he can't make obtuse and enjoy doing it...but that being said it's hard to deny the occasional brilliance of his perceptions..."The finless 16-footer looked tuned to roots, more so than three fins and goon cord stuck to a toxic wafer ever could." Poetry.
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