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By Bill Sorrels
By Bill Sorrels

Dean Westgaard was a hero in more ways than one. He was a boatman in the mid-‘50s and once convinced Chad Burton to go out to the kelp beds with him to spear a shark.

Dean was known to supply a lifeguard party with dives in a couple of spots he knew. Chad figured he’d learn some secret spot.

While they were paddling out, Dean filled Chad’s head with the wonders of a “Shark Heart,” he claimed it made you stronger then Tarzan and all the ladies wanted a private party with you. (Chad was a believer.)

When they got to the kelp beds, Dean told Chad to keep the guard-boat in position and he would dive for a “Shark Sighting.”

Incredibly, Dean not only saw a shark; he speared one. Chad wasted no time in cutting out the heart and sure enough, eating it.
Dean asked him if it tasted good. Chad told him that Neals hot dogs were better, but that he felt like a new man. Dean suppressed his laughter and said “look out ladies.”
When they got to the beach, Chad challenged Brayton Nortorv (the former Olympic champ) to a 100-yard dash.

Brayton finished about four yards in front of Chad. He chalked that up to practice and left to talk to that blonde over there in the bikini. What’a ya know, he got a date for that evening and never questioned the “Heart of a Shark.”

 

 

Bill Sorrells returned to his boyhood home in Laguna Beach after a career in Los Angeles.

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