JOCK SUTHERLAND Exploits of the Sunshine Superman By Matt Warshaw….SURFER JOURNAL

Exploits of the Sunshine Superman

By Matt Warshaw

Sutherland’s style wasn’t artistic. His stance, whether riding regular or goofy foot, was nearly symmetrical, the left side of his body mirroring the right, almost like a paper doll cutout. While Hakman, by ’67, had already developed the prototype low-profile bottom turn, Sutherland obviously preferred to remain upright as much as possible–«like he had a broomstick up his ass,» as Corky Carroll would put it twenty years later. Sutherland’s early reputation was for doing spinners in big surf, and for switching stance at Sunset and Waimea. «Not a pretty surfer,» says Dan Calohan, «but he was already doing things nobody else was doing.»

In addition, Sutherland’s personality was more and more often finding an outlet through surfing. Gerry Lopez describes a longboard-era afternoon at Pipeline, probably in early 1967, when a frustrated group of Pipe regulars were unable to push through the shore break, getting pounded back to the beach again and again. «Then Jock walks down with his palm-frond hat on,» Lopez recalls, «throws his board in, and paddles out–without even getting touched.» The crowning moment came when Sutherland, having just crested the shore break, still wearing the hat, with nothing but calm water between him and the lineup, sat up, put his feet on the rails and easily finger-paddled the rest of the way. He threw a single, smiling glance back over his shoulder. «Very subtle,» says Lopez, laughing. «Very effective.»

 

More of Jock Sutherland’s exploits can be found in Matt Warshaw’s «Goodbye Sunshine Superman» in the TSJ archives.