Danny at Ruapuke circa 2003
It's been a tough few days in New Zealand Surfing. Over the weekend we lost one. Today at 10am Dunedin's South Coast crew send off Danny Carse. It's gonna be a big turn out. The club rooms at St Clair will be filled with laughter and hilarious recants of Danny's antics over his too short years.
DC 2000 at Makorori on his way to winning his National Title
I'm most certainly not trying to claim Danny a close mate. We did know each other pretty well for a while. During the mid '90's it was clear that Danny was the grommet to watch... with Felix Dickson nipping at his heals. The dynamic Duno's duo made for quite a convenient media story at the time. There's no doubt to two mates pushed each other to become the great surfers they were/are.
In 2000 Danny won the National Junior title at Gisborne. We traveled together for the 2000 Bali Grom Worlds. I loved hanging out and getting into mischief with his old boy, Graham. And in that regard the apple did not fall far, that is for sure! Every Southern tour was rounded out with the catch up with the Carses.
Danny, Leon Santorik and some hanger onner, 2005
He was part of the 2001 NZ Team that won the overall title at the Quiksilver World Groms in Sydney. I'm pretty sure around this time he also won a Junior Maori National Title in pumping waves at Gizzy Pipe.
Brett Summerlee, Maz Quinn, Danny and Brent Rasby for an Electric Shoot 2002
Danny struggled with the transition from Junior to Open. He was a product of the time, either 8's or 2's in a heat. If you saw his freesurfing he'd be the stand out, his peers often rating him as THE best surfer. A lot of his South Coast peers comparing him to Andy Irons.
Danny and Rick 2005 a couple of days before Rick won his Open National Title
Danny's influence on his younger brother Richardo Christie was huge. It's Danny that pushed Rick into his early waves, it's Danny whom Rick looked up to. As a grommet Danny split a lot of his time between his dad's place in South Duno's and his mum's in Mahia. Over the years in interviews the two have talked about their love and pride for each other's achievements.
Today and forever there will be a tear for Danny, there'll be fun times remembered. A cheeky little grom with the Carse signature dry humour. A talented and deeply caring man gone too soon.