May 3, 2008 Saturday

Corte Madera	Book Passage
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm	Gerry Lopez book signing

Last night 80 avid surfers and myself crowded into the small speakers area of the Book Passage bookstore in Corte Madera to listen to surf legend Gerry Lopez present his new book, Surf Is Where You Find It. The bookstore was overwhelmed by the turnout. They gave it little promotion but the word-of-mouth network of the surf community quickly spread the word. Employees scrambled to set up more chairs and they sold out of Gerry’s book before the talk began. Luckily I managed to purchase one of the last copies and gladly stood in line for a half hour afterwards to shake Gerry’s hand and to get his signature. Before the talk I counted the attendees; I stopped at 83. It was an older surfer crowd but there were several young surfers in attendance also. My surf buddies Mary, Marty, Jock were there as were Surfrider Marin members Christie and Michele. 

The book is a collection of 41 of Gerry’s stories. In the book’s introduction Gerry states that though surfing is an individual endeavor the stories can be enjoyed by anyone. Through his fifty years of surfing Gerry has put these talking stories into written form. He wants to spread the wisdom of a lifetime in the water. Gerry read his story Pakala about his discovering surfing as a small boy at his grandmother’s sugarcane workers home in Kaua’i and then presented slides of the photos that begin each story. He briefly described the origin of the photos, the people and the stories they represented. 

Gerry has lived an interesting life, mixed with incredible characters and has achieved fame and success from surfing. Yet he is quiet, humble and unassuming. An air of calmness surrounds him that moves one to want to be around him. In the Q&A session, someone asked how he stands out from others. “Stand out? I’m always trying to blend in,” was his response. 

I was impressed by the short sayings Gerry had about life and surfing. Here are a few: 

Buzzy Trent, a big surfer from the 1940s and 50s when asked about the difference between surfers of his day and those of today stated, “Surfers of today are better fit, better trained and better fed.”  Gerry somewhat disagreed with this statement because early surfers like Buzzy Trent were extremely fit and tough as nails.

“The best surfer is the one having the most fun,” was Gerry’s response to an Australian journalist who was pressing him to state who was the best surfer in the world. This was in the 1970s when the world’s champion surfers were Australians. The journalist pressed Gerry to name someone. “Tommy Zahn,” Gerry finally said. Tommy is another great surfer from the 40s and 50s. “What’s so great about Tommy Zahn?” the journalist snapped. “Well, Tommy Zahn slept with Marilyn Monroe.” Well that does it in my book. 

“When the surfing bug bites, things change.” In his 20s, Gerry was surfing everyday. He noticed that in the water were older surfers and young kids. Men in their prime were working. Gerry wanted a flexible schedule that would allow him to surf when conditions were good. That’s when he became a shaper, started the successful Lightning Bolt line of boards and managed to expand into other phases of the surf industry to maintain his flexible schedule for the past fifty years. 

“The first twenty years of surfing are just a test to see if I was interested.” Gerry claims he is still learning. 

“Surfing is a metaphor for life. Life doesn’t hold still.” Gerry made this statement when comparing snow skiing to surfing. Mountains don’t move, but waves do. For this reason surfing is like life because life is always changing. 

“We’re going backwards. We need to heal our planet. First we have to get control of our minds.” This was Gerry’s lead-in to the next statement. 

“Live with aloha, breathe through your nose and keep paddling,” which is Gerry’s extension to the Delhi Lama’s “peace is within you.” 

Question: “Is surfing art, sport or a religion?” Gerry, “It’s all three, like an onion. We’re just going through layers. I’m just scratching the surface.” Later on he stated, “Surfing is a never ending challenge.” 

“When in doubt, paddle out,” which is a lesson Gerry learned from his friend Herbie when Gerry was just beginning to surf. 

“There’s always another wave,” one of Gerry’s main lessons in life. “Don’t be bummed-out because you missed that wave. Get the next one.” 

“Just keep paddling. One little wave keeps you going for months.” There’s a feeling of satisfaction about catching a wave that lasts and lasts. “Get it while you can. The moments are brief but they last for a long time.” 

Question: “Do you understand why Greg Noll quit surfing?” Gerry, “No.” After a short pause he continued, “I have teased Greg several times that he is still riding that wave from 1969.” Gerry is referring Greg Noll’s riding of the biggest wave ever ridden. In 1969 during a storm of the century, at Makaha Greg Noll paddled into the biggest wave ever ridden. He wiped out, barely survived and quit surfing on that day. He has not ridden a wave since then. 

Question: “In all your travels what is the most interesting culture in the world?” Gerry, “Bali. It’s an incredible place. The people seem happy, even tough they don’t have much. In fact the further you go from the city the happier the people are.” Bali is the land of the surf spot G-Land that Gerry and friends discovered, which is the place that in Gerry’s opinion has the most challenging and intense waves. 

To Gerry conditioning is key to keep surfing. He follows a strict regiment of yoga and swimming to stay flexible and in shape. As long as he can do it, Gerry will keep surfing. “There’s always another wave.” 

Through setting down these talking stories, with this well put together book, with these presentations and his quiet, confident demeanor, Gerry shares with us his wisdom of a life in the water.