Gerry Lopez and Peter McCabe, two surfers who have arguably the best stories in all of surfing. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
A few years ago, I sat in my truck and called Gerry Lopez. Cell service at my house sucked, so I drove to a better area, turned on my recorder, and proceeded to have one of the most memorable conversations I’ve ever had while traffic flew by on the 1, the Pacific Ocean glittering on the other side. It wasn’t memorable because I was talking to Gerry Lopez, per se — it was memorable because, although I knew of Gerry’s reputation as something of a wise man, I wasn’t prepared for the truth bombs he casually littered all over the place.
He, along with Peter McCabe recently sat down for the World Surf League’s podcast, The Lineup. The impact that the duo have had on surfing cannot be overstated. The conversation is a look back into a time that many of us now can only dream of.
“Gerry and Peter reminisce on their extended trips to Indonesia that earned them international reputation and fame for their tube riding, crossover surfing, and fearlessness at its virtually perfect waves,” the WSL wrote. “They reveal untold stories from East Java, their earliest memories of surfing G-Land, and becoming regulars at the world’s first surf camp there developed by Mike Boyum, G-Land Surf Camp.”
While they likely wouldn’t change those experiences for the world, Peter and Gerry didn’t have it easy a lot of time. Bugs, sleeping rough, scratching for meals, all with the greater goal of not only surfing, but exploring.
“They discuss surfing for eight to ten hours at a time and eating one meal a day, only after finally coming in from a surf,” the WSL continued. “They reflect on their best memories performing ‘Blue Angels,’ what they called their surfing when they performed crossovers and rode in the tube without ever colliding with each other as they surfed the same wave.”
Also in the conversation how McCabe got his start and how his stint as a competitive surfer in the days when competitive surfing was a far cry from what it is today.
