Bells 81
Brand X Video courtesy of Bob McKnight
intro by Ken McKnight
posted 2003-07-15
What we didn't see coming was big bad Simon Anderson whipping out and unveiling a surfboard with three fins in the car park. Rumor had it Wayne Lynch was part of the design team. Simon and Wayne never really set the rules on that one. The board hadn't worked at the Stubbies earlier but Simon in one fell swoop used practical application (solid power surfing) and fully developmental validation of this untried design in professional competition to kick all their asses in surf from 3 feet to 15 feet. This was a remarkable feat for the time and a huge change in direction for surfboard manufacturers and shapers worldwide. Change had arrive and "The Thruster was born!"
Photo by Ken McKnight
Simon would later take the new boards in a slightly longer format and beat the crap out of the competition in Hawaii at the Pipe Masters in solid surf. The surfing world was stunned at this revelation. Simon won the Pipeline event going away and it proved his surfing and the three fins were no fluke. This was another red-letter day in design verification and it was more than one shaper that went back to their workshops around the world to interpret this new direction.
Oh and did I tell you all this came about and unfolded on a day that Doug "Claw" Warbrick, called ahead of time. The infamous Rip Curl owner and super knowledgeable Victorian smelled something coming that week. He sniffed the air, laid his cards out early, and watched the betting unfold.
On the big Saturday, in epic man on man heats, with 12-15 foot bomber sets slamming in every few minutes or so, truth be known, survival surfing occurred in an event that featured a barely sponsored purse with the Curl holding the strings gingerly. It was a chore just to paddle out. Ask Vince Collier as he got unceremoniously body slammed in the shore break during an early morning heat against MR. Call it blind luck, or dumb luck but the best surfers of the day proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that their mettle and sacks were iron clad.
Photo by Ken McKnight
The winds of change were blowing hard offshore that Saturday at Bells and poker chips flew everywhere. The game was intense in the carpark and it meant the best players were going to have to ante up. The front line of Rabbit, MR, Shaun, Buran, Hedemann, Ho, Kerbox, Richardson, and Dane Kealoha were nervously looking over their collective shoulders at T. Carroll, Derek, Critta Byrne, Barton Lynch, and Bobbie Owens. The cards hit the table and the deal was on.
There were a lot of people there at Bells Beach that day. Somehow the word spread like a bush fire and the cliffs were overflowing with spectators trying to gain a good vantage point to watch the spectacular waves detonate down the reef. From Centreside to the Bowl and then into Winki, the lines stacked to the horizon. The sets were non-stop and every surf cliché' imaginable could be used to describe this day. It was exciting stuff.
A helicopter arrives with a rope dangling under it. Suddenly a cheer rises up with the whirlybird and a body is attached at the end of the rope twirling around as the noisy aircraft lifts up. It's the late Australian photographer, Peter Crawford, water camera in hand, being given an E ticket ride into the lineup for the next heat. The lines of white water, the current, and the immense size of the playing field make swimming out through the inside cauldron almost impossible, even for Peter.
Photo by Ken McKnight
A week later at his home in Sydney, Crawford shows me slides of the event for potential use as ad photos. Over the light table he is his typically nonchalant self about what went down and his part in the overall scheme of things. He got the goods all right. A tribute to his abilities as a great artist and waterman.
There have been few contests like this event in the course of surfing history. The great waves, incredible competition, and intro to the Thruster make this a defining moment in surfing.
