Legendary Locals of Huntington Beach by Chris Epting

Author:Chris Epting
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: unknown
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Gordon Duane

“Gordie” Duane achieved a lot of firsts related to Huntington Beach and surfing, including receiving the city’s first ticket for surfing illegally. He opened the first surfboard shop, at the foot of the Huntington Beach Pier, in 1956. It was so popular with the burgeoning surf community that kids would skip school to hang out there. This caused the city to ban surfing until after 10:00 a.m. and to issue a statement citing Gordie as the first official scofflaw. He was recognized as the biggest name in surfboards when Surf City was the board-making center of the universe. Gordon Patrick Duane was born on February 2, 1931, in Los Angeles and learned to surf in his early 20s while serving in the Navy at Pearl Harbor. He made his first surfboard out of surplus balsa wood from Navy rafts. As wood gave way to foam surfboards, Duane was among the first to strengthen them by incorporating a thin strip of wood down the center, from nose to tail. This “stringer” is still used today by almost every shaper and manufacturer. After a 1958 fire destroyed Duane’s shop, he reopened nearby on Pacific Coast Highway, remaining in business until 1988.

In the 1970s, Duane surfed with the “Hole in the Wall Gang,” a group of Huntington Beach’s best. The amateur team, ranging in age from 23 to 54, dominated the scene, winning over 20 consecutive Western Surfing Association contests. Decades later, teammates still spoke with equal parts reverence and joy at having surfed with Gordie Duane. He died in 2011 at the age of 80.

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