Josh Ku rides G-Land on his Gerry Lopez carbon surfboard

Photo by Dane Wilson

After completing a 92-kilometre open-ocean crossing from Uluwatu, Bali to the legendary Bay of Grajagan (G-Land) on his Amos Shapes foil board, Josh took a well-earned rest before swapping his downwind setup for an iconic single-fin Gerry Lopez surfboard, shaped by Paul Hutchinson at North Coast Surfboards and built at Lucid. His timing couldn’t have been better: his arrival lined up perfectly with a pristine run of clean swell at one of Indonesia’s most revered surf breaks: Money Trees at G-Land.

Josh paddled out into clean, powerful 8-foot sets on a beautifully crafted Lopez single fin surfboard featuring carbon wrap construction, a striking gold Gerry Lopez signature and pin line, and a high-gloss polish. This board was expertly glassed by our team at our Ballina workshop - a testament to precision craftsmanship and timeless design built for serious waves.

"Riding the Lightning Bolt board with Gerry Lopez’s name on it felt like an honour. The amount of people that just wanted to talk to me, as they were also in awe of the board, was incredible. It’s truly a head-turning board, and with the carbon wrap on it, it adds a flair of new-age tech!" - Josh Ku

Photo by Dane Wilson

A Legacy Shape Meets Modern Craftsmanship

G-Land is a wave that demands respect. With long, shifting walls, barrelling sections, and razor-sharp reef, it rewards precision and punishes hesitation. The setup Josh was riding echoes the boards ridden by the original pioneers of Indonesian surf exploration. In the early days at G-Land, surfers like Gerry Lopez and Peter McCabe relied on boards like this - purpose-built for speed, control, and commitment on one of the most challenging left- handers in the world. This Gerry Lopez board was an 8'0" single fin with a pin tail, subtle rocker, and extended rail line for early entry and clean, down-the-line speed.

"As you’d imagine, being an 8-foot board, it paddled like a dream, allowing me to wait for the sets a bit further out from the pack and position myself nicely for the infamous drop you get at G-Land. With its pin tail shape, you honestly just point the board down the line, forget the new-age surfing wiggles, and let the rail engage. The single fin directs you straight into the tube.” - Josh Ku

A Meeting of Eras

Gerry Lopez, later known as “Mr. Pipeline,” created the signature lightning bolt logo and helped develop board designs that surfed the then cutting-edge waves of the North Shore of Oahu. In 1983, Gerry Lopez and Peter McCabe were among the first surfers to spend extended time surfing G-Land. Already well known for their performances at Pipeline and in shaping circles, they travelled to the remote jungles of Java and scored consistent, uncrowded waves for weeks. They surfed now-famous sections of the reef - Kongs, Money Trees, Launching Pads, and Speedies, with Money Trees standing out for its long, hollow walls. Often alone or with just a few others, Lopez and McCabe helped define the approach and style that came to be associated with surfing G-Land.

Josh’s transition from foil to fin, all in the space of a day, marks more than just an epic personal mission. It’s a crossover moment - one that bridges the modern reach of foil boarding with the timeless feel of rail surfing. It’s about what happens when design heritage and next-generation construction come together in the water.

“We’ve always believed in honouring the legacy of board design while pushing the standard of modern surfboard construction,” said Amos Barriskill, founder of Lucid Glassing. “To have a Gerry Lopez board carbon-glassed by us surfed at G-Land - it doesn’t get much more iconic than that.”

The Next Chapter in the Lightning Bolt Legacy

These classic Lightning Bolt boards are now available through Gerry in the USA and Peter in Australia, and a curated range of Peter McCabe Tradewinds label boards built in carbon construction are coming soon to Lucid Glassing. Stay tuned for news about its release date soon.

"I was lucky enough to score some epic waves that trip. It was the cherry on top after my voyage from Bali on foil. I really like how the Lightning Bolt slows everything down and makes you focus on positioning and drawing the right line to successfully exit the tube. I’d love to try this board next at Pipeline - I think a second reef roll-in would be incredible on it!"  - Josh Ku

This ride, along with the entire journey from Uluwatu to G-Land, will be featured in a short documentary premiering this September at the AWSI Tradeshow. It captures the full arc, from distance foiling to legacy single-fin surfing, and everything in between. 

Photo by Dane Wilson 

Read the full story of Josh’s crossing of the Bali Strait here.

Explore our range of carbon surfboards currently available.