Board Notes From the Road with Dane Gudauskas


  • 04.16.2021

Dane Gudauskas

Hey boys!

hope all is well back home! just wanted to drop you guys a line from the road and let you know how the boards have been working!

over the past few weeks i have been lucky enough to score some of the best and most challenging waves i have ever ridden. we surfed 2 really good days at overhead narabeen, then went and surfed that wave ours in sydney then down to wollongong that looked like large hossegor or supertubos in portugal. to top the froth fest off we ended up on a boat down in tasmania to surf the wave shipsterns. backside, no worries gettin classic!!!

i have been riding my 6’0” rookie at nara and the session in wollongong, both times the waves were overhead. it felt really good carving through sections then releasing off the lip when i wanted it to. it felt like the perfect board for the conditions. (thruster setup)

at the wave ours i rode the black flag whip 5’11” and went with the quad set up for more grip on the vert wall. it was super sick!! we ended up paddling for most of the day and i got a couple waves that i was super stoked on. it was crazy out there and i’ve never surfed a wave that you have to negotiate a step in the wave face like that. the board held in everytime i wanted it to, and never broke even on the most horrific of wipeouts into 6 inches of water! it was cool, cause kelly came out for the afternoon session and we were frothing on boards. he was epic out there. i have really been liking the black flag whip quad setup for barrels backside and frontside. i love how it rides the vert wall!

for shipsterns, i used my 6’6” proton for paddle. i probably could have used a bigger board but that was all that i had brought over. we paddled most of the day and it was seriously hectic! the way that little wave sucks up underneath you is so classic. you take off deep, hit the step then have to recover before backdooring this crazy section that is twice the size of the wave you originally paddled into!! needless to say i spent most of the time casing the air drop from the step, and getting sucked over the falls. but I was stoked i made it into a few crystal castles and got spit out. The extra challenge of just riding the wave really made you appreciate the tube riding experience all the better. my proton held up, and i was super happy about how it fit into the curve of the wave. Who knows, i may have just gotten addicted to slab hunting. there is something mentally challenging about it, espescially backside.

well thats the update from our end boys. thanks for gettin us some amazing boards! that little bit of extra confidence has helped me push a little deeper, go a little later and helped me believe that i can take my surfing to a new level. we are in west oz now, and i cant wait to throw down some heat on some leftys rip bowls!!! stoked.

i still have the original rxr to froth on as well when i come home. how are the other boards coming?

thanks boys, you guys rule hardcore.

dane

  • 04.16.2021