Check out this letter we recieved last week from our man Steve Girdis in Australia...

Team Aviso,

Yesterday I had the pleasure of handing over the first DVS Rocket Fish to Dick Van Straalen. Words can't describe the pride and pleasure that came from experiencing Dick's first reaction at unveiling. I realized the joy bestowed upon me was from the work of others.. so I should at very least introduce Aviso to a classic Australian waterman.

Dick Van Straalen has been shaping surfboards in Australia over five decades. Dick has shaped for many of Australia's World champions and more recently his paddle boards have dominated the Molokai. Always the innovator, Dick pioneered the introduction of foam and glass surfboards in Australia around 1956 and has seen the the fashions of surfboard design... real and imagined.. come and go along the way. Never one to lay it on too thick though , he leaves the trumpeting to others.

Dick lives by the less is more creed. Most days will find him working alone at his Burleigh Heads factory , classical music in the background . Scanning around the shop, the alert visitor will see remnants of materials engineering experiments in amongst the hand crafted surfboards and paddle craft. Dick has moved into EPS/Epoxy construction and has been experimenting with carbon fiber for ten years or so...
Interviewed a few years ago Dick commented " the surf industry is still relatively young and its about 50 years behind the technology available" Well Dick, Aviso has the technology !...saves waiting another 50 years.

When pressed on the Retro Revival tag of the Fish designs, Dick only comments, "Retro means going backwards" ...and for a man who never stopped building Fish, revival seems irrelevant. "People love the Fish because they are easy to catch waves on, and you're not sitting up to your neck in water". Dick's good friend and chief test rider Dave Rastovich inspected the Aviso sample with Dick. Both were awed by the finish and workmanship of the Aviso. Dave packed one and heads off to Hawaii tomorrow, so get ready for Dick Van Rocket sightings from the islands over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Dick's loading up and heading for Byron Bay .... like the phone message says, you've called Dick Van..leave a message, I'm either working or out surfing.

Welcome Dick Van Straalen.