WAS IT AS GOOD FOR YOU AS IT WAS FOR ME?
September, 1972

The biggest south swell in ten years was on the assault. The real deal. The entire west coast was being hammered, and Baja was on fire. School was back in session. Mexico was deserted...And there were just the two of us out at K-181.

Things were perfect. The day, the waves, and the incredible coastline, were hypnotic. The sets were big, rhythmic and clean. All of a sudden it was one of those, "Holy Sheeet! Look at what's coming! Outside!" experiences. The mammoth lines approaching definitely slapped me back to reality. As I scratched like a mad dog toward the horizon, my mind raced, Oh Geez, don't break, don't break yet. Gotta make it to the shoulder, Oh God! Keep those lungs full. As the lines focused on the outside reef they revealed their full potential...the possibilities were limitless. The first wave nearly took us out but we were there. The third wave is perfect, paddle, paddle! Just 10 more yards! The peak was feathering...but we were there. Oh yea! Turn and go! The drop was unreal...free-fall into the pit. Drop, Drop, Squeeze the turn, Prrroject! Coming off the bottom everything fell into place.

The feathering lip wrapped over like the hand of God. Drive, Pump, High and tight. Go, Go. The sunlight dimmed, the roar deepened. I drove for the open eye at the end of the cavern...Darkness to light!

Made it! Cut back now, all the way around, Bam! Now pull it back around. Yea, oh yea. Damn this is bitchen! From huge, glassy take-off to barrel to wall...and now toward the inside bowl. My mind shrieked, Go, Go, get down the line! Pump, step up, trim...tuck and gooo. The bowl bent and pitched, the off-shore wind textured the face, the speed was astounding, and the wave was made. I banked my eleven foot board off the bottom, up, up and over...Kick out!

My partner was laughing! I would have just kept my cool and paddled back out quietly, like most guys, in silent triumph, my chest arched up on her tight buns, but she's laughing. She's electric, ecstatic.

I was struck by her wonderful response to the wave we had just shared. I wanted to say, "Yah, I feel that way too.", but I just paddled on. We paddled back toward the peak. she stopped paddling and sat up, her wet, brown back against my chest. She turned to me with a smile, "Was that as good for you as it as for me?" "I can't say for sure, " I said with a wink as we began paddling again, "Let's do it a couple more times and compare notes."

Tandem surfing. It's a beautiful thing. Surfers can remember a ride on a particular wave for their life. They carry a mental album of snap shots. The more intense the situation, the danger, the speed, the deeper the image is etched into the memory. But for most surfers these are solitary images. Because, for all its art and magic, surfing is a solo thing. It is often a battle of hostile egos. It can be a grasping struggle; selfish and vain. One surfer's success in the water is often at the expense of another. Treasure turned to tripe. The tandem surfer, however, has a friend, a partner, a girl, with him on every wave. She carries the same precious album of memories. It is a shared experience. It is two as one; a single-mindedness. She understands his love of surfing. I'm not much on the dance floor, but I admire those couples who are. Their communication is exact, minute and subtle. They are in harmony. Tandem surfers are much the same only their dance is on the wave.

When I first got into tandem surfing it was different to feel so close to a girl as she shared with me the sport I love. It's not a sex thing, but kind of a sporty physical intimacy. Of course, a trim feminine body in a bikini on your surfboard can't go unnoticed. When I was only eighteen, I told a friend that I would always be in love with my tandem partner. I guess I'm lucky, I married mine. Most tandem teams are either married or an "item". They have all found tandem surfing has been the most fun component in their lives, offering a second element of intimacy to their relationship. The dance that tandem partners perform is a blend of many things. Wave riding ability is a vital part. One form of tandem surfing involves no lifts at all but rather a blending of the two surfers standing united in a perfect position for doing carving turns. This classic paired surfing is a joy to experience. But it's the lifts that catch the eye! They have been passed down, the result of four generations of pure fun. The original lift come from surfers like Pete Peterson, a consummate waterman and fine tandem surfer.

Pete was a legendary surfer, scuba diver and Hollywood stunt man. His favorite sport was Tandem Surfing. I watched Pete surfing with his partner at San Onofre when I was fifteen years old.

Pete & Margie
Bob & Patty
Steve & Stephanie
San Onofre 1963

Mark & Debbie with Steve & Barrie-1993

Now, thirty five years later we are teaching those same lifts on the same patch of sand. I told him that we wanted to learn some lifts, so there on the sand by the hut he showed me and my partner their classic lifts.

The 60" were exciting times in tandem surfing. Barrie and I were going up to the famous Muscle Beach to learn new lifts. As our skills increased, we were able to invent and name about a dozen of the difficult lifts used by most teams today.

Pete & Barrie 1966

Extreme aerobesque 1965

Barrie and Ilja on Teeter board

Feet to hand 1965

The lifts are of great value and offer great rewards. They express the union of male strength and female courage and beauty, a rare male/female bond. Each one has an accepted form with special leverage, contact points and balance. The best learning still happens on the beach with friends. Tandem teams hang out together at places like San Onofre and Makaha, freely sharing techniques. The openness and giving spirit reflects a living link to the Aloha spirit. Learning tandem is like becoming part of a culture within a culture. It is rich with the qualities of "Ohana", Hawaiian for family. It is part of the surfing life that few surfers know, but are always welcome to come and learn. Competition is a part of tandem that some surfers question. A team that takes competition too seriously can ruin the friendly atmosphere. Contest can bring tandem teams together. Pairs from Hawaii, California and Europe can learn from each other. There are lots of laughs. The sport gets exposure and, hopefully, new surfers will come and try tandem surfing. These are good things.

I would love to see Pete Peterson riding one of the new tandem boards. The equipment has gone through the same evolution as the rest of surfing. While long boards were "out" in the 70's, we rode tandem boards as short as 9'6". A big tandem was 10'6". Now long is cool again and we all ride tandem boards between 11 and 12 ft. The top teams are ripping on the new boards.

The great tandem pairs function as a single surfing unit. They are inseparable. The girl's as good as the guy. The tandem partners play out classic romantic roles. He, earning respect through his surfing skill, knowledge and power and she, making the pair look good as she leaps blindly backwards into a monster lift. She trusts his decisions in critical situations. Her confidence elevates him, makes him stronger and gives him confidence in himself. In many cases its the women who maintains the team's morale. The men tend to be affected by competition and loose their cool mentally. The women get them re-centered, focused, and able to reach the team's potential.

Barrie is my wife and tandem partner. She won the World Championship in 1966 with Pete Peterson and again in 1972 and 1994 with me. Pete and I were blessed to have such a skilled and eager partner. I know of no other athlete able to compete at a world class level for over thirty years.

Pete & Barrie 1966

Steve & Barrie 1995

Often time the girl is the one with the staying power, the work ethic, the guts. The first trip Barrie and I made to Hawaii was in 1969. I had made a tandem gun and we were anxious to see what we could do in big surf. We arrived a week before the famous Makaha International Contest so we could have time to practice. First go-out: Makaha. The surf was the biggest I had ever seen much less ridden. It was not quite "point surf"' but the outside bowl was a solid twelve feet with larger clean-up sets. We paddled out to Pete Peterson's line-up spot and waited. We let the first few waves go by; humongous things with awesome size and speed. A set came and we took off. A tandem board with crew weighs about 325 lb. and won't accelerate instantly like a single surfer, so in big surf a tandem team can get hung up at the top of the wave. We hung all right, then slid down the vertical face! We made the drop but the wave closed out. We straightened off to prone it out. The lip of the wave smashed down on to the tail of the board with crushing power.

The deck of the board came up into Barrie's chin with so much force that it split open the skin down to the bone and launched her over my head into the boiling soup. Barrie was knocked unconscious momentarily. Miraculously she made it to the surface; no leashes in '69, so I continued to hang onto the board, riding the wave to the channel. As I sprint paddled back to the impact zone Barrie was hit by 2 or 3 more waves. She was dazed and covered with blood. We got to the beach and I took her to the hospital. The doctor stitched her up and said she shouldn't go into the water for 3 weeks. I felt horrible about what I had allowed to happen to her, but the very next day, she insisted on continuing to practice for the event...and we did. My partner; staying power, work ethic, guts.

Steve and Barrie at Makaha

Tandem surfing is experiencing a world-wide renaissance, and for good reason. It's rewards are deep and it's fun factor is giant! It may not contain the secret of true happiness, but then again, it just might! I recall a bumper sticker I once saw, it read: "My wife said she'll leave me if I keep surfing. Gee, I'm gonna miss her". Maybe that guy should invest in a tandem board.

Steve and Barrie, Le Surf Restaurant Biaritz 1998