The master. Peter Mel. As a very old friendship, man and wave, blossoms as never before.

You’ve heard the expression “old guys rule,” and it’s no joke here. The Santa Cruz-based surfer is 51, with a devotion to Mavericks dating to 1991, and he’s always been one of the best out there. But something happened over a three-day stretch this month, something that left Mel wondering, “Where do I go from here?”

As longtime Northern California standout Steve Dwyer put it, “Pete put himself into two Mavericks clubs — Biggest Barrel and Biggest Wave — that have only one member. Him.”

On Jan. 8, the water a pristine blue-green and brushed to perfection by offshore winds, Mel paddled into a 50-foot drop that redefined the art of Mavericks “tube” riding. On that very unforgiving stretch of reef, a spot beyond the normal takeoff area that surfers attempted to conquer for years, he pulled into a gigantic cavern on his 9-foot-10-inch Merrick and came out the other side, arms raised, looking almost stunned by the accomplishment. There were shouts of amazement from watercraft in the channel, and when Mavericks pioneer Jeff Clark got a look at the video, he proclaimed it “the most technical job we’ve ever seen from a paddle-in surfer.”

Dwyer said it connects directly to experience, “something Pete’s been searching three decades to accomplish. It’s a matter of ‘backdooring’ that bowl (the standard takeoff area), taking off behind the peak, and he’s been pushing those boundaries since the late ’90s. This wave was super high-risk. He had to navigate four ledges on the face, and if he falls on that last one, he’s in for the beating of his life. People watching from the lineup would be like, ‘Uh-oh, he could die.’

“Even making it down into the flats doesn’t guarantee the barrel isn’t going to clamshell on him,” Dwyer said, “but it stayed open, and he made history. That comes from 30 years of studying that lineup, seeing the opportunity, then having the king-size balls to go.”

“One in a million,” said photographer/rescue safety operator Frank Quirarte. “I think anyone else would have been obliterated.”

“Like surgery,” said San Francisco big-wave surfer Grant Washburn.

Mel said he’d “never seen anybody paddle in and do that, to be honest. It was the wave I’ve been trying to get my whole career. And then I’m thinking, now what?”

He got the answer two days after his historic ride, last Sunday.

As a new, giant swell began to take shape that morning, paddle-surfing seemed a catastrophic proposition. “Nobody questioned that there were 70-foot waves,” said Washburn, meticulous in his documentation of every swell. “A lot bigger, in my mind. There’s never been anything like it. We’ve had days that big, but not just pure and clean the entire time. It was the first time in about 20 years where I really wondered if an 80-foot wave would come and get us all.”

Bay Area meteorologist Mark Sponsler, for years the most reliable source for local wave forecasts, said “the jet stream has been raging since late December with 200-knot winds providing piles of fuel to support storm development. And a beauty of a storm developed, producing 80-knot winds and 60-foot seas aimed right at Half Moon Bay. It moved to within 1,500 miles of the coast, then veered off to the northeast, resulting in massive waves, but with light winds and relatively clear skies. It was the biggest clean-and-groomed day I think Mavericks has ever seen.”

There were valiant attempts at paddle-in surfing that day, but “it was really hard to catch something,” said El Granada’s Luca Padua, 19, who has taken the lead among young local surfers charging Mavericks. “The playing field was so big, you’re paddling 50 yards out, then maybe 100 yards over, just really hard to track down. Tons of waves came through the bowl, but almost none of them were approachable.”

“There was a period around noon when it was just macking and no one could go near it,” said Mel. “Way, way outside — like 300 yards outside the pack — some giant waves were coming through. The outer realm, we’ve always called it. That’s when I told John (his 21-year-old son), let’s go out there and just whip into one if we can. Tow-surfing was the only way to go.”

Towed behind a Jet Ski at breakneck speed, with the aid of footstraps and a slingshot release from the rope, surfers are able to ride downsized boards with the luxury of placing themselves exactly where they want to be as the wave begins to break. Mel had a worthy companion in his son, an able driver who is coming into his own as a big-wave surfer, and the result was spectacular. Cascading endlessly down a wave of inconceivable height (judge by yourself from the photos) on a 5-foot-10-inch board he’s had in his quiver for 20 years, Mel stylishly navigated the beast without a hitch.

“You have no idea how big it is when you’re on it,” Mel said. “You’re just racing for the channel with no idea what’s happening behind you. I was kinda surprised when I saw Frank’s photo. I was like, what the heck? I was just so glad I didn’t make a mistake. And then John came and picked me up on the inside. So cool.”

Last Sunday proved to be a harrowing experience for 28-year-old Kai Lenny, the most advanced big-wave surfer in the world and someone who has dominated Mavericks in past sessions. “I learned that day that the consequences out there are as heavy as any place I’ve ever surfed,” he said. “Looking for that really big one, a few of us were sitting out beyond that green buoy way out to sea — and we still got caught inside. It was a freak wave, breaking in such deep water it was more like an avalanche.” At least 70 feet, by Washburn’s estimation.

“That wave dragged me almost into the bowl, just hundreds of yards underwater — like being swept by a river, to a place where no safety vest could bring you up,” Lenny said. “Where I ended up was really bad, like the worst place anyone’s ever been. The next wave backed off enough where I could barely paddle over it. Otherwise, I’m not sure what I would have done. I wouldn’t say it rattled me, but it made me feel like my younger self, just trying to figure out what’s going on. That rarely happens.”

Perusing his records, Washburn said, “Young surfers are fortunate to be able to test themselves day after day, and not just this month. We had 16 quality days in December. I spoke to Peter in the water the other day, and we agreed this is the best Mavericks season we’ve ever seen — even if it stops now.”

Mel spent his youth immersed in Santa Cruz surf culture. He was born the same year (1969) his father, John, opened the Freeline Surf Shop that remains a thriving enterprise near Pleasure Point. “The shop was our home, our shaping, manufacturing and retail under one roof, and it just grew from there,” he said. Peter and his wife, Tara, have been married 22 years, raising the younger John and her child, Anthony, to whom Peter has been a stepdad since toddlerhood.

Always known for his courage and distinctly elegant surfing, Mel became one of the most respected California surfers ever to grace Oahu’s North Shore, earning an invitation to the prestigious Eddie Aikau contest (at Waimea Bay) for 20 consecutive years. He was a three-time finalist in the now-defunct Mavericks contest before winning it in 2013, and he won the Big Wave World Tour overall championship in 2012.

“I remember Pete and Jeff Clark tow-surfing a giant October swell, and when we went out to dinner that night, John was just 10 days old,” said Quirarte. “Now, 21 years later, that kid towed Pete into a bomb. That’s so cool, and I think Pete’s family is a big reason he’s lasted so long in surfing. It’s hard to make any money in big-wave surfing. Almost none at all, really. But he’s always been engaged in the sport.”

Mel served as commissioner of the World Surf League from 2015-17 and parlayed his breezy, upbeat manner into an announcer’s role in the water, analyzing contest performances and interviewing surfers right on the spot. “That’s all changed now, with the pandemic and the tour shut down,” he said, “but I’ve enjoyed turning the focus toward family, not having to travel so much.

“I’ve been inspired to keep surfing big waves lately, and a lot of it’s because of John, just being out there with my son, pushing each other and having fun. I know that over time, that flame will dim a little bit. My stamina’s like an old battery in a phone. Charges well, doesn’t last as long. I’ve had people telling me ‘walk away!’ after those great waves I had, but you know, I still have a good time out there. I think as soon as I truly stop enjoying it, that’s when I’ll be done.”

Lenny could only laugh in admiration when asked about Mel’s legacy. “He’s letting all of us know that you don’t have to stop, that you can be getting the waves of your life in your fifties,” he said. “Other surfers have done that, but on this level? I’m not sure. He’s always been one of the greats, but now his name is heavily into that conversation. The stone is set. It’s solidified.”

Just as importantly, Mel doesn’t wear that “I’m so heavy” vibe that radiates through self-absorbed athletes. “He’s the 100% opposite of that,” said Padua, marveling at Mel’s effervescent nature. “He’s someone you can study, learn from, and when he comes out of the water after a session that could have cost him his life, you can see he’s extremely grateful. Every time. That matters. And Mavericks takes care of him.”