I surfed with one of my heroes this weekend. Gerry Lopez, aka Mr. Pipeline, aka The Goofyfoot Guru, was out at PC on Saturday and Sunday on his stand-up board. Can I actually say "surfed with" if he was 300 yards outside of the line-up, paddling into bombs and making stand-up surfing look appealing? That's right. Gerry is the first stand-up surfer I've ever seen use etiquette on one of those things, grabbing big outside waves that only he could catch, then plowing down the faces of the overhead bombs and connecting them to the inside, kicking out just before the big close-out at Gas Chambers.
After the session Saturday, as the sun went down, I was taking a hot shower behind the Pelican and Gerry walked by. He gave me a nod and I said casually, "Hey." After he passed, I looked down at my hand which--completely on its own--was shaking a cheeky little shaka at the legendary surfer. It was like some weird subconscious reflex. I felt like a total kook.
Anyway, that evening over a glass of wine I lamented about not having a camera. I usually take pictures on all my overnight trips to the beach. The next morning when we woke up at the beach house and checked the cams, the shot of Pacific City captured a figure who appeared to be walking on water. It had to be Gerry again. When we got to the beach, he was still out there, stroking into the mysto peaks that crumbled on the outside bar.
It also was really cool to surf with Gaz today, who was riding his Mandala as well. He informed me that his son's health is improving, which made a sunny day even brighter. And shout out to Morgan, who lent me sunblock and told me he reads Sissyfish!
Roni Size - Heroes
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11 comments:
No way.
There were a lot of Janitors out there sweeping up around the lineup.
Never would have thought one of 'em was Mr. Pipe.
Good surf this weekend, eh?
yeah, mr. pipe was out saturday morning too. me and one other watched him cross step that tanker on few. It was funny seeing his face coming down the line.
The "subconscious shaka" was some funny shit; I laughed out loud.
Its like your hand was a y-stick, and just as a y-stick locates water your hand was locating stoke.
I gave Gerry a band aid when he cut himself...
He bled like any other surfer...
Just surfed way betta...
The man exudes calm, class and style.
That was great, thanks for sharing! Loved the impromptu shaka bit. You're in the presence of legend, it's a physiological response, what can ya do?
Never feel weird about throwing a shaka. The fact that it was a natural unconscious response only goes to show the mystical power of the almighty shaka!
\.../ That's a mega shaka. \./ That's a mini shaka. Many mad mini shakas coming to you from down south.
i am with you jb , a good laugh for the shaka
What's so funny about Gerry's face? is he funny like a clown? Does his face amuse you?
I've started getting into the SUPs and it's no joke, slim. It's harder than it looks!
Calm down, Ed. It's misunderstandings like this that piss me off about surf blogs and the internet in general...
Funny as in, "Wow, there's surf GOD Gerry Lopez coming right at me! Awesome!"
Okay?
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