Daniel Thomson: Modern Planing Hull continued...

I've been hanging with Daniel recently, getting a full update on his latest applications of Simmons concepts to ultra-progressive design. Daniel recently won "Best in Show" at the Sacred Craft surfboard exposition/gathering with this particular design, which is the closest to his ideal of performance yet. (It was his second win at Sacred Craft) Yesterday morning we met up at a little reef/sandbar known locally for its junky unpredictabilty. There was one kid in the line-up, he was riding a bellyboard of his own design. He came out of the water and gave a full break down on his concepts. His inspiration? Simmons. I didn't catch his name...so for now he's known as the Prestwick Kid. This beach is where Simmons rode his last wave...its were Butch Van Artsdaalen rode Al Nelson's little 5'6" twin fin in 1957...it's where Nick Mirandon and Chris Prowse blew minds in 1967 on twin-pinned spaceships, and a stone's throw from Big Rock,
where Steve Lis did the same on his Fish. Its where Ekstrom rode his asymmetric in 1965.
Its funny, even in those times the status quo resisted. But the guys with the new stuff? Too stoked to care. Its the same today. Daniel went out yesterday and took what the ocean offered up, and had a blast. His board has carefully applied concepts, heavily inspired by Simmons,
and the more Dan feels it working the more frothing and stoked he gets. As for the Prestwick Kid? Keeping an eye on him for sure.