Frank Latta and San Juan

I first met Frank when I worked for Peter Clarke Surfboards at Brookvale. Frank worked for Peter Clarke on South side at Taren Point, and Barons , and at Peters Christmas Party, at his place, both factory workers got together, and after a small chat with Frank about Snooker, which both of us had been playing since 14 a kind of mutual friendship was maintained over many years. If you don;t know,... Frank was from Cronulla he was the best surfer from there, and was a holder of Golden Gloves( boxing) and maintained that rep till the day he left Cronulla, with another reputation as a fine shaper(  it would be hard to find someone who didn't like the way his boards rode). It was nearly 8 years until I saw Frank again, and that was when he became San Juan's shaper about 1978. He was a competent and fast shaper and within a short time , with the help of an also fast glasser, but no sander, boards started to stack up. I got asked to do some sanding while working for Roy at Bare Nature to help them out, which I did, but the resin had hardened up on the boards, as the youngest Fillercoat was 2 weeks with some 4 to 5 weeks old,and this made it very hard sanding, that is, it would take twice as long to machine them apart from the hand sanding. Anyway eventually we caught up and San Juan found a full time sander and Frank continued at full speed ahead. Franks boards were well sought after, they were what I call, Hot Dog boards, highly maneuverable and well suited to North Coast waves. He  had a close association with Simon Anderson  and on Simons many trips north the pair were inseparable , they surfed made boards and surfed and a few memorable days at Lennox are what I remember well of same dam fine surfing. Frank was always surfing, and at night , practicing or playing competition Snooker( he was good) he became Northern districts champion! in and out of the surf , he  made a lot of good friends tho, a couple of hotheads in the water, thought they were kingshit, and  learnt very quickly, what many years in a boxing ring teaches you . One guy I remember,Frank kept saying to him before it started" now your sure you really want to do this, we can just walk away and forget it" , but as I said they were hot heads and Frank was always cool, and one punch later............ As the years rolled on after Franks Marriage broke up, He met Michelle and they went on a trip to India which she had won, and on the same tour was my Mum and her sister Aunty Edie, Mum told me about it, and when I finally caught up with Frank , he said he couldn't believe that he'd run into Tiki's mum in bloody India and said they ended up hanging with her for most of the trip and had a ball. I never saw Frank for many years until one day at Scotts Head Alb

y Falzon pointed out Frank in the water on a bellyboard surfing. We ended talking for some time that day and the next and  I couldn't get over how well he looked still , he was still passionate about boards but his hip was that bad he couldn't shape anymore nor could he play snooker( he was just as passionate about snooker as surfing) The news of Franks death was a shock to me , he was a great guy, chirpy and full of energy, you don't get many like Frank coming out of the mould, he was unique and if my mum liked him ..... yeah he was alright.... Miss ya Frank

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