Sorry to say, this morning I heard thru’ the coconut wireless that we have lost another one of surfing’s trailblazers.
Del Cannon has died at the age of 85 on the Big Island.
RIP Del.
Del was a ‘‘regular’’ at WindanSea, in the '50’s and '60’s. He was a strong influence on me, both in the water, and in the shaping room. A truely outstanding WATERMAN. No higher compliment could be said about the man. He gave me my ‘‘break’’ when he hired me as a shaper at the Velzy shop he managed in 1960. He had a fluid, switch stance, surfing style. A real pleasure to watch him in the water. A giant among pioneer surfers. Rest in peace, Delbert.
When he had his own shop(just before his Big Island move) he made some of the cleanest boards around. I didn’t frequent Trestles or Laguna until after 1965 so I don’t remember seeing but one dc board in person. Just remember his adds in Surfer. Usually a pic of a very clean “clear” board with a nice Balsa stringer combo and at most a tail block. Very clean and no doubt Wardy influenced. Didn’t hear anything about the guy for a couple of years and then heard he moved to the Big Island. Something about him owning a Charter boat and loving those big fish. Seems I Remember seeing a Kona Tournament on television once that he participated in. Some of the best shaper/board builders left it behind and moved on to other things.
Hey guys, keep posting. You’re the classic glue that makes sways great; and keeps it together. I love the history you add to a lot of posts. And I’ve learned so much from you guys, I hope you keep it up. The ‘great’s’ are dropping away…well guess what, you guys (the one’s posting so far), are the ‘greats’ to the next generation. It may seem like the new generation is all take, take, take; and to an extent they are, because they understand that the ‘great’s’ won’t be around forever so they need to absorb as much as possible. Luckily, there’s a few giving souls (you) willing to help educate those (us) willing to put in the work. Thanks, and we appreciate you.
Aloha Monkstar1,
Thank you for the compliment. For your reading pleasure check out an old post ‘‘Seeking 1963 North Shore Crew’’ I think you’ll find the connections quite interesting.
I agree with this post. I am so grateful for the knowledge shared here.
More about Del here: https://www.swaylocks.com/forum/46675/del-cannon-surfboard?page=1 Old thread but a lot of history.
I seem to remember a couple of pics that were used in magazine adds that were of “team” guys surfing Trestles. Surfing Trestles would have been illegal in those days. That would have been the era when guys hid their boards in the weeds.