Photo: Encyclopedia of Surfing
Geoff McCoy, one of surfboard shaping’s most creative minds from the early shortboard era, has died at home in Byron Bay, Australia. He was 79 years old.
As news of the legendary board-builder’s passing permeated, the surf world paid homage to their fallen brethren – including former McCoy Surfboards team rider and four-time runner-up to surfing’s world championship, Cheyne Horan, who penned:
“From the beginning it was you and me against the world, so much resistance to all our developments, now today our designs are in almost every board ..when we went to far we came back , when we weren’t deep enough we went deeper , our journey will always be special , etched in our DNA … I know your flying now , Free at last .. RIP ….. always keeping the vibe Alive …Love you”
In charting McCoy’s entrance into shaping, surf historian Matt Warshaw wrote:
“McCoy was born (1948) in Gosford, New South Wales, the son of a farmer, began surfing at age 14 and shaping at 17. He made boards for Sydney mainstays Bennett Surfboards and Keyo Surfboards in the late ’60s, and was cofounder of the short-lived M&M Surfboards. In 1970, the blond-haired shaping prodigy founded McCoy Surfboards in the Sydney suburb of Brookvale, and shortly thereafter became one of the first Australians to make twin-fin boards.”
Later, perhaps McCoy’s most indelible innovations in the world of surfboard shaping, came in 1980 with the “Lazor Zap” model. With a sharper nose, and steeper rocker, the board made it possible for more radical surfing than designs of the time allowed.
Warshaw explained: “Essentially, the Lazor Zap’s objective was to move the board’s trimming sweet spot—usually a foot or so ahead of where the rider stands while turning—back toward the tail section so that, in theory, the surfer would not have to move his or her feet. Move-to-move quickness was the goal.”
It was McCoy’s “Lazor Zap” model that led Aussie Horan to two of his back-to-back second place finishes on the world tour back in 1981 and 1982.
Another former team rider, world champion Pam Burridge, posted her remembrance:
“Little me with my first sponsored board.Very sad to hear that Geoff McCoy died today. He was a powerful figure in surfing and that McCoy team was where all the hot shots seemed to be.Many thanks for those early years and launching me on that dream of a life of surfing. RIP.”
As time went on, McCoy Surfboards became wildly popular, then he faced a devastating blow when the brand went bankrupt in 1984. He would never recover to full surfboard shaping stardom. And yet, he continued building boards nonetheless.
Rest in peace, legend.
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