This is Gerry Lopez's signature.

If your Bolt doesn't have one of these he didn't shape it.

Gerry Lopez- Australian adventure. Part 4

We now know that Gerry Lopez did not actually shape any of the licensed Lightning Bolts made at the Bennett factory, we can all still admire Henry's beautiful Aussie built Bolt.

Gerry Lopez- Australian adventure. Part 3

Jack McCoy wrote:

"Gerry is coming out (to Australia) next week and I"m doing the tour with him promoting the film, A Deeper Shade of Blue.

"Gerry didn't surf long reef by himself and he only shaped a few boards while in Oz, a couple for me and a couple for himself at Terry Fitz's.....

AND I have the board he brought to Australia for the Bells and Coke Contest that he took to Bali when I took him in 1974 and has an amazing story of which we will tell on the night with the board that you would have seen at my house."

Obviously Jack McCoy is an expert on Gerry's exploits in Australia. So Gerry never shaped a board at Bennett's, but they did make legitimate licenced copies. 

Tim Ellis has never spoken a word of a lie to me so lets assume it was me who heard the story wrong about Gerry surfing Long Reef.

I have been lucky enough to meet Jack and the board Gerry took to Bells / Bali at the Deus Surf Swap 3, when Jack brought it along to share the stoke.

Jack & Gerry's

Gerry Lopez- Australian adventure. Part 2

Warren wrote to say- 

You can find footage of Lopez on a similar board in Steve Core’s
“Ocean Rhythms”.

This footage was shot at Johanna Beach in Victoria in 1972.

There’s also some great footage of Simon Anderson and 
Terry Fitzgerald at Bells Beach.

I understand that Lopez will be Oz this coming weekend attending a screening of 
Albe Falzon’s

MORNING OF THE EARTH at The Sydney Opera House.

Gerry Lopez- Australian adventure

My good friend Thomas "The Cosmic Dog" gave me a copy of Gerry Lopez's autobiography 'Surf is where you find it'. Skimming through it, I'm yet to find any reference in there regarding his travels to Australia. 

I know he did go, based on anecdotes and boards like this he shaped at the Bennet factory in Brookvale. Guessing by the shapes I'd say around 73 - 74. 

Tim Ellis told me the legend of how Gerry surfed massive, maxing out, Little Makaha off Long Reef on Sydney's Northern Beaches, alone, some time in the 70's. But I'm yet to find any record of his exploits in my collection of Australian surfing magazines from the time.

The man is an enigma. Mysterious and puzzling.

Gerry on a wind swept Australian headland some time in the early 70's

Long Reef headland showing Little Makaha reef to the left and Butterbox to the right

Gerry Lopez 6'4"

Clément wrote-
Sorry for my english, it's not my natural language.
I'm a surfer living in Peru. One month ago, in Peru, I was lucky to find an old single surfboard with the inscription "Gerry Lopez". Passionate about surfing in the 60's & 70's (congratulations for your beautiful blog!), I wish to know more about the history of this board because always it's an amazing feeling to surf an old surfboard with his own history. I found some pictures of Gerry in Java between 1973-75 with surfboards of same type and similar decoration.
The surfboard is an 6'4. There is only one inscription on the board. It's the number 5451.
Do you have some ideas o information about the fabrication of this board (shaper, etc...) or his history ? Any information will make me happy.

I can wait to try the board in the waves of Chicama!










Wow! What a fantastic find.
This board looks a lot like the boards Gerry took to G-Land in the movie "Storm Riders" where he famously surfed the long hollow left hander alone in nothing but a pair of sky blue speedos.
I understand when Gerry split from Lightning Bolt he started his own label, Pipeline, and started shaping under his own name, still does to this day.

The most sort after collectible surf board of the modern era.

Randy wrote to me from Hawaii with a pic of probably the most sort after collectible surf board of the modern era. The board Gerry Lopez shaped for himself to ride in the movie he stared in as 'himself'!
The good news is the board is in safe hands -

Hey Damion,
I love the "Board Collector" site! Really fun to see every one's input. I actually switched over from Surf Line Hawaii, late in the game to Bolt. That happened when Ben Aipa came on board at Surf Line, and a mass exodus of shapers left Surf Line to switch over to Bolt in 1978. Guys like myself, Dennis Pang, Rick Irons and a number of others, who had hung in at Surf Line, made the transition later on.
I'll gather up some more info and pass it along.

Attached is a shot of one of two boards Gerry built for the movie: "Big Wednesday"

Keep up the good work!

Aloha,

Randy Rarick

Oh my god! Part 1

Gavin is bringing the mother load of classics to the Deus / Boardcollector Surf Swap on the 10th of April.
This is an original 70's Lightning Bolt. It is a sweet white pigment 6'3" single in 8/10 condition; signed and "trademarked" as a Lightning Bolt - presumably from when the logo was being stolen and duplicated by so many, due to Lightning Bolts popularity and dominance at the time.

Even the blind squirrel finds a nut now and again....

Jeff from California wrote to me with a story that just has to be shared......

There's still a few treasures to be found now and again. This board was found when I went to look at an old pickup that was being sold for scrap. This board was inside the cab. Left the pickup, bought the board. The pics don't do this board justice

Jeff
Pray for surf.

Makaha

When I get hold of a vintage board I try and test it out in the conditions for which it was built to get a good idea of the functionality of the design. I'll take a Hot Stuff single fin out at Kirra, an Energy thruster out at Narrabeen and this Ligthning Bolt twin fin out at Makaha on the west side of Oahu.
I love the way the top photo (me in Hawaii) looks like its from the 70's cause of the red Bolt board and the empty beach. It looks like I could be part of Gerry's crew hanging on Sunset beach in m'74 (bottom photo). Stoked!

Storm Riders

Iconic 80's innovation period surf movie. Featuring Mark Richards riding a twin fin in huge surf, Wayne Lynch the guru, Rabbit Bartholomew on a channel bottom single fin, Gerry Lopez on a lighting bolt single fin at G-land in a pair of speedos (!?) and Simon Anderson riding both classic single fin and his brand new 3 fin thruster design that was to go on to change the face of surfing.