Surf Legend Herbie Fletcher Recalls Inventing Tow-In Surfing on the North Shore (Listen)

Jade Eckardt
·2 min read
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Herbie Fletcher is a true surf legend.

He's the patriarch of one of the most radical surf families in history who spawned surfing hellmen Christian and Nathan Fletcher.

He's an artist, a shaper, a member of the Surfing Walk of Fame, and owner of Astrodeck with super badass wife, Dibi. He's also the latest guest on former pro and current comedian Benji Weatherley's podcast, "Let's Poddy."

Let's Poddy captioned the post above:

"We see jet ski tow ins and rescues on a daily basis, but have you ever wondered who brought jet skis into the surf world?

"This week we talked with Herbie fletcher, the inventor of the jet ski tow in and much more! Listen now wherever you get your podcasts."

According to Let's Poddy, "This is the ultimate history lesson for any surfer."

You should do your ears, and your storage of surf trivia a favor, and listen to the full podcast.

But here's an excerpt to get you excited.

Fletcher tells Weatherley:

"I just wanted to get my jet ski to Hawaii. I rode it from '81 to '84 and trying to get guys to tow in. I got Johnny Boy [Gomes] and Christian and Nathan on smaller days like at Insanities. It was pretty incredible.

"But then in '85 I got Potts out at, it was capping on the third reef at Pipeline. Anyway in '85 was the first big wave tow ins. It was really cool.

"Nobody wanted to do it, they thought they were gonna hurt themselves. But I had a tow rope and I was swinging it around."

Listen to the full episode here.

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