Last week Pete de Haan's wife surprised him with an early father's day present – a ticket to Storm Surfers 3D. She even bought him a choc top for the special occasion. Pete, 35, went to the Cronulla screening on Thursday night with his wife and young son. They sat near the back and enjoyed the film immensely.

On Thursday afternoon Ross Clarke-Jones rang the Swellnet office seeking info on a swell due to hit the southern Australian coastline the following day. Ross was in the midst of a whirlwind promo tour for Storm Surfers and needed a big wave fix. Ben Matson told him the swell would be big but not huge and the winds would be really strong. A dicey call. Ross was unperturbed and had just one question, "How long does it take to drive from Cronulla to Sydney Airport?"

Ben, who along with Tom Carroll makes up the Storm Surfers team, informed Ross there wouldn't be enough time to have the post-film Q&A plus an autograph session and still make the last plane to Melbourne.

"No worries," said Ross, "I've got a plan."

Which brings us to Pete and his family and their choc tops. Like the rest of the audience they listened as Ross and Tom fielded a few questions on stage after the film. Then, to everyone's amusement, Ross announced that he was leaving right now to surf a wave on Australia's southern coastline and he'd need a partner. Who'd go with him?

A few people raised their hands, including Pete who must've been swept up in the moment because it was decidedly out of character. Those who were keen assembled on stage while Ross figured out how to choose someone. Votes? Dance off? Then one fella chimed in that it was his birthday. Too easy. Ross and the birthday boy flew out the cinema door to a roar of laughter from the remaining punters.

A minute later Ross burst back in saying the guy had flaked. "He can't do it. So who'll leave with me, right now, to tow into big waves tomorrow?"

Fingers were pointed and thus Pete became the chosen one running out the door wearing just shirt, shorts and shoes for the craziest 24 hours of his life. His wife ran after him but only to fetch the car keys so she could drive home.

"Everyone in the cinema thought it was a stunt," said Pete when I spoke to him two days later. "I'm sure they thought he was going to go out and sign an autograph or give me a prize and we'd walk back inside a few minutes later."

But a few minutes later Pete was in Ross' hire car hitting the Kingsway, the main road out of Cronulla, at 140 km/h sideways. They quickly stopped at Pete's place to grab some ID then drove at triple digit speed all the way to the airport. Ross had bought two tickets and they arrived just in time to be seated – in business class.

Pete sat down and for the first time he had a chance to take stock of what was happening. He looked Ross in the eyes and asked if this was for real. "Yep," came the grinning reply, but Pete was sure there'd be a Storm Surfers or Red Bull team waiting at Melbourne. He kept an eye out for them upon landing. No-one showed up.

The trip from Melbourne to Ross' home at Jan Juc was taken at similar speeds as the first. "There's nothing slow about the guy!" says Pete recalling the mission. They pulled into Ross' driveway after 1am and Pete was decked out in Ross' clothes and urged to have a quick sleep. Meanwhile Ross hooked up the jet ski and filled his car with boards and equipment. At 2am with no-one stirring in Jan Juc they slipped out of the sleepy hamlet at a lazy 110 km/h.

Heading west in the dark Pete was still convinced he was part of an elaborate promotional trip. "I was sure the Red Bull bus would show up and those guys would take over." Meanwhile Ross was madly texting and talking on the phone, making hasty arrangements and getting the latest weather data.

They pulled up at a quiet boat ramp in the pitch black – no Red Bull bus in sight – and began loading the ski in the water. Ross knew the weather would be wild and that's exactly what it was. "There was lightning and wind," says Pete who had to back the ski into the water "but by this stage I didn't want to let the dude down. He'd shown so much faith in me."

They motored out of the sheltered harbour and into open ocean groundswell heading towards Pete's first ever tow session. The ski was roaring through the darkness, if he fell off the back no-one would find him – not Ross, not anyone. Pete held on tight.

As they approached they could see whitewash through the inky grey light and Ross took them in close. So how big was it? "Eight to ten feet, maybe a bit bigger," says Pete. "Although Ross would call it two!"

Ross then turned to Pete and put it on him, "Do you wanna have a go?" There was only ever one answer.

"It felt liked the whole sense of the trip was for me to have a go," Pete tells me, "So I said 'fuck it' and off the side I went." He rolled into the freezing ocean and pulled the footstraps on. Ross then towed Pete around the line up checking it out, both of them wild on adrenalin. "Ross was hooting and hollering as he drove the ski."

Unfortunately the footstraps were ill-fitting and were giving Pete grief while he was being towed. "I tried taking my booties off to help them fit but the water was ice cold." About now Pete started having hesitations. "Ross kept telling me 'you can do it, you can do it', but at that stage I had to tell Ross it was out of my league."

Reflecting upon it later Pete says he "was just happy to stand on the stage with Ross. Even getting an autograph would've been enough." What Ross had done, including him in his mission, was more than he could've wished for. Towel thrown in, Pete climbed aboard the ski.

Ross however was unfazed and decided on a different way to give Pete his jollies. He caught a set wave on the ski and told Pete to turn around and look into the barrel. "It was just like what I saw on the screen a few hours earlier," said Pete, still clearly pumped two days later.

They then motored back to the boat ramp where they met one of Ross' mates. Pete and he swapped places and with a beach towel wrapped around him watched as the duo sped off for a session. How was Pete feeling by this stage? "Physically sick. Dry retching. Exhausted."

He didn't wait long before Ross returned. It wasn't yet 9am and they'd had no sleep and hadn't eaten. Figuring the mission was complete Pete asked Ross if he wanted a coffee or to read the paper maybe?

"Nah," was his reply, "let's go to Bells and Winki."

They avoided the laborious task of winching and rinsing the ski by just leaving it there with Ross' mate and hitting the bitumen. A few hours later they powered past Bells which was four feet and inviting. Ross rushed home and told Pete he was having a power nap – evidently he even sleeps with energy – but that he was free to grab any board he wanted. Pete passed up Ross' famous Mad Wax board and the gun he won the Eddie Aikau on for a fresh shortboard. He then used Ross' car to drive back to Bells, a place he'd never surfed before.

He chose Winkipop and it was only fitting that he paddled straight into a set and kept the rhythm going for the rest of the session. After an unbelievable two hours he threw the board in the back of Ross' Red Bull bedecked vehicle and headed back to the house glowing, exhausted and incredibly thankful.

Energised by his power nap Ross then drove the two of them back to Melbourne Airport at speeds Pete was now familiar with. Ross, you see, had a 7pm screening of Storm Surfers to attend in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. And of course he made it on time.

At Sydney Airport the two high-fived and hugged, then swapped phone numbers before Ross ran to his hire car and sped onwards to the screening. Pete stood and collected himself in the suddenly mellow surrounds of Sydney Airport.

Five minutes later his mobile beeped and vibrated with a text message from Ross: "You're on the team Pete! You're on the team!"