Surf around Pacific Beach long enough and your chances of surfing right next to one of the sport's all time legends will go up exponentially, whether you know it or not. And these days there are just too darned many in the "not" category... But I digress.

It was a fall day about 4 years ago if I remember correctly, probably the middle of the week right after school had gone back into session. Not many people out in the water at good old Tourmaline Surfing Park, and some classic chest to shoulder high walls pouring through the cove before unloading onto the stank bank.

While the wave at "Tourmo" is not exactly Teahopou or Pipeline (to say the least), any wave over 2' can really put a hurtin' on you if you or your board ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Skip has spent seven decades staying in the right place at the right time.

The story goes something like this: