NO.
585
THE IC E I N FU SED PHOTO GRAPHY OF MAR K MCI NNI S
ISSN 1032-3317
Full Throttle with Callum Robson • Sierra Lerback • Cam Scott • Kentaro Yoshida A return to Bali • Grajagan - the Tiger’s Lair • Crafting Happiness with Jim Banks Michael Bennett’s Technicolour Time Machine • Hunter S. Thompson 9 771032 331035 >
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Continuous line, series of marks, left by person, animal or thing in passing along
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This is Kyle. Once a bright-eyed, fluoro-hawk-haired boy, now a well-barreled man. He knew the dangers of limestone- and petroleum-based neoprene manufacturing and gave up traditional neoprene wetsuits a long time ago. Kyle’s joined the fight against the dirty neoprene peddler, opting for Yulex® natural rubber* wetsuits that leave a lighter impact on the natural world. Kyle made the right choice. Will you?
*85% Yulex natural rubber/15% synthetic rubber by polymer content. The natural rubber is from sources that are Forest Stewardship Council® certified by the Rainforest Alliance. Kyle Thiermann was last seen doing the tube, wearing his Yulex® R1 somewhere in Mexico. Ryan Craig © 2022 Patagonia, Inc.
Made with Natural Bio-Resin
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Made with Natural Materials
At FCS we’ve made it our mission to design products that use low impact, sustainable materials while still remaining focused on maintaining the highest quality and performance. The new FCS NeoGlass Eco fin range is made with a 50% glass and Bio-Resin EcoBlend™, delivering the same quality and trusted feel you’ve come to expect. Variations of EcoBlend™ materials form the basis of our Freedom Helix leash range as well as the Bio-Foam used in the new Eco Traction offering.
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Photo: Lohis I Maldives I Richard Kotch
Above: A sparkling drop of north coast ocean. How we’d like our coastal waters to look every day. Photo: Ben Bugden
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Introduction
Riders on the Storm Water HAVE WE NEGLECTED OUR MOST VALUABLE NATIONAL RESOURCE?
The impact of the recent floods and heavy rains on the east coast of Australia can’t be understated. The scale of devastation was of course at its greatest on the north coast of NSW where lives were lost, homes destroyed and the future of entire townships placed in jeopardy. For those of us not knee-deep in mud and misery it was difficult to fathom just how disastrous the freakish weather was for particular communities, however, there was one place where many shared a common sense of disenchantment – the beach. As the floodwaters poured through river-mouths and stormwater drains along most of the east coast, the ocean turned into a potent cocktail of e coli, heavy chemicals and debris that looked and smelt like it had been conjured in the bowels of hell. In the cities, it’s well-documented that leaky sewer systems flow into stormwater drains in heavy rain, sending bacteria and fecal matter spewing directly into beaches. Marine scientists didn’t have to get the chemistry kits out to confirm there was something evil in the recent brew. Across Sydney’s beaches there were incidents of kids rushing from the water and dryreaching on the sand. Meanwhile, beach carnivals and local surf contests were cancelled as organisers and parents feared the consequences of the toxic seawater. Further up the coast the population density may not be as high, but the raging Northern Rivers dragged in every kind of fertiliser, heavy chemical and drowned cow in their path. The end result was a murky soup that burnt your nostrils and lingered for months. Many beaches were closed. Those who dared to enter the water
wondered if they needed a trip to the decontamination lab afterwards. By the time this magazine hits stands the election will be decided. However, despite the fact the water was still poo-brown on the north coast as we entered the polling booths, no politician dared to discuss the state of the ocean. It’s true, the broader issue of climate change was hotly debated and is directly relevant to the topic, but there are also more specific problems relating to the well-being of our country’s surrounding waters that require immediate action. There are some fundamental reasons why ocean quality should be a priority for our politicians. As the title of John Ogden’s brilliant book about Australians’ relationship with the coast suggests, we are ‘Saltwater People’. The Indigenous population has enjoyed an intimate relationship with our shores for tens of thousands of years, while in the modern era the beach is synonymous with the Australian way of life and our national identity. On an economic level our incredibly diverse coastline is a major drawcard for both domestic and international tourism. It could be said that our beaches and coastline are our most valuable national asset – not iron ore as the daily papers and news reports might suggest. In a land ‘girt by sea’ as our national anthem claims, we should be able to boast we have the best water quality in the world. Despite the fact more than 85% of Australians live within 50 km of the coast and most of us grow up with sand between our toes, Australia does not have a National Coastal Authority. There is no part of the constitution that
gives real federal clout to issues like stormwater, sewerage, big oil and coastal development. There is a federal Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions and a Minister for Resources and Water (that’s freshwater). There is no federal minister with a title ‘Coastal Management’. The answers to the problems affecting our coastline are not simple and many will be expensive. However, this is more of a siren call than a suite of solutions. There are certain steps you can take to put coastal issues on the agenda. Make a phone call, write a letter or comment to your local MP. Get vocal on radio or submit a letter or article to a mainstream or local newspaper. Don’t be afraid to back yourself in a political arena on a coastal agenda. For example, NSW south coast surfer, Chris Homer is known as one of the best barrel riders at a notoriously slabby right. He is now also the mayor of the Shell Harbour City Council after he ran on a platform to stop a development in Killalea State Park. Chris is Deputy Chair of National Surfing Reserves, and a Board Director of Surfrider Foundation. That ensures he is a surfer in a position of power, making decisions and campaigning for change that puts coastal issues at the forefront of political consciousness. Some of the coastal issues require urgent attention while there is also a need to formulate a long-term plan for our fragile shores. We want to have the best minds working on ways to ensure Australia – an island nation – leads the world when it comes to coastal management. We also need your voice. - Luke Kennedy
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Contents
Editor Luke Kennedy luke@tracksmedia.com.au Creative Director / Deputy Editor Ben Bugden ben@tracksmedia.com.au
General Manager / Director of Marketing & Advertising
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY
Damian Martin
Tracks Magazine and its staff acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we operate our business, the Arakwal people of the Bundjalung Nation & the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We also extend our respect to all the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across all of Country. Tracks celebrates the rich history of the world’s oldest living culture and their continuing connection to land, water and community.
+61 (0) 417 168 663
damian@tracksmedia.com.au
Social Media Manager Sam Morgan sam@tracksmedia.com.au
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Lightbox - The best images from the last couple of months.
Head Dips - An entrée sized serve of surf snippets.
Ride Everything - all things foam and fibreglass..
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Fantasea - Artists deliver their illustrated surf nirvana.
Watercoloured Waves - Art and words by Dave Sparkes.
Classic Cover - The tales behind our best page ones.
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Goodvibes - Revisiting the best of the Pig of Steel.
Lineup - A serve of liquid delights for dessert.
Archivist Ray Henderson
Contributors - Anthony Pancia, John Respondek, Ted Grambeau, Alex Workman, Jamie Brisick, Melissa Connell, Ben Mondy, Alan van Gysen, Kirk Owers, Al Mackinnon, Jason Childs, Tom Pearsall, Nathan Oldfield, Dom Mosqueira, Joli, Swilly, Andrew Shields, Peter Boskovic, Greg Ewing, Phil Jarratt, Karen Hudson, Kate Allman, Trevor Moran, Bill Morris, Tom De Souza, Mark McInnis, Georgia Matts, Lucy Small, Noa Amos Eakin, Sean
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Callum Robson - Australian surfing’s forceful new presence.
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How Sierra Lerback took on the men and won at Noosa.
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The many lives of Maurice Cole and son.
Davey, Pete Geall, Jed Cooney, Albe Falzon, Rusty Miller, Chris Duczynski, Ryan Craig, Mark Onorati, Ian Thurtell, Federico Vanno, Dave Sparkes, Mic Gruchy, Brad Sterling, Mike Ito, Zach Havard, Be Ryder, Sierra Lerback, Paula Ortega, Mia Frances, Bo Bridges, Johnte Lang
Subscriptions: subscribe.tracksmag.com.au
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Life’s never a drag for frictionfree artist Cam Scott.
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Wilem Banks & Greg Long on a rock-hewn archipelago.
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Email: subscribe@tracksmedia.com.au
Falling in love with the Island of the Gods all over again. COO: Craig Treweek craig@tracksmedia.com.au CEO: Peter Strain peter@tracksmedia.com.au Co-owner: David Mulham
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The Ice infused DNA of photographer Mark McInnis.
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An unsanitised look at the often dark, early days of Grajagan.
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Co-owner: Greg Cooper
Crafting happiness with the iconic Jim Banks. Independently published by Tracks Media Pty Ltd
Tracks is published by Tracks Media Pty Ltd ACN: 646 929 053, SE1005 L10 97-99 Bathurst St SYDNEY NSW 2000 All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in Australia by IVE, distributed in Australia by Ovato Retail Distribution. ISSN 1032-3317. The publisher will not accept responsibility or any liability for the correctness of information or opinions expressed in the publication. All material submitted is at the owner’s risk and, while every care will be taken Tracks Media does not accept liability for loss or damage. PRIVACY POLICY - We value the integrity of your personal information. If you provide personal information through your participation in any competitions, surveys or offers featured in this issue of Tracks Magazine, this will be used to provide the products or services that you have requested and to improve the content of our magazines. Your details may be provided to third parties who assist us in this purpose. In the event of organisations providing prizes or offers to our readers, we may pass your details on to them. From time to time, we may use the information you provide us to inform you of other products, services and events our company has to offer. We may also give your information to other organisations which may use it to inform you about their products, services and events, unless you tell us not to do so. You are welcome to access the information that we hold about you by getting in touch with our privacy officer, who can be contacted at Tracks Media, 23 Lamrock Ave, Bondi Beach, NSW, 2026
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Wilem Banks takes it all in after a dreamy session on a rainbow-framed peak. See more on page 066. Photo: Al Mackinnon
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L i g ht b ox
SU RF E RS: NATE F LO RENCE / EL I OL SEN PHOTO : RYAN C RAIG
Ever since Lopez slipped under the arching hood of a Banzai tepee we have been sold an illusion that Pipe is a perfect wave, where every swell collides with a predictable reef and bends into a blissful cathedral of curling blue green. Truth be told, it’s a lineup that’s often replete with wash-throughs and weird kinks and straight close-outs. While the reef does the heavy lifting when it comes to sculpting the wave, an errant build-up of sand can quickly ruin the cylindrical aesthetic. Pipe is so exposed that minor shifts in the angle of swell can dramatically change the way it breaks. However, for all Pipe’s volatilities and notorious violence, there are undeniably days when it’s exalting, capable of elevating the surfer into a state of euphoria. Meanwhile, as the surfers chase fleeting glory, it’s left to the photographer to camp out and wait for that one moment where all the right forces conspire. Ryan Craig selling the Pipe dream all over again as the boards garnish the Volcom House hedge and Nathan Florence splits the peak with Eli Olson.
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02. L i g ht b o x
S URF ER: STE PHANI E G I LM O R E P HOTO : BO BRID G ES
Waking up early to paddle out on frigid, winter mornings in Victoria can test the temerity of the most diehard surfer; par ticularly if you are hauling on rubber that’s still damp from a mix of yesterday’s memories and morning dew. However, the on-dark regulars at Bells and Winki Pop are well aware that the ‘Dawny’ has its rewards. On a good morning, the steely, Southern Ocean lines will reel against a backdrop of solar fireworks. On this occasion, it’s Steph Gilmore leaning on a rail and lending a hydrodynamic riff to a burning sky.
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03. L i g ht b ox
SU RF E R: SAM LO G AN PHOTO : JO H NTE L AN G
Sometimes the most understated submissions to our Tracks inbox are the best. Take for example the following email correspondence that arrived courtesy of photographer, Johnte Lang. “A few months back down here in Victoria, the boys and myself scored a session at this particular wave. I’ve got an unreleased image that I would like to get your thoughts on if you’d be keen?” The original email didn’t even have the shot attached, just a humble request to send it. We told Johnte we’d be happy to have a look. So, as you can imagine, when the photo of this snarling, fat lipped, Teahupo’o impersonator came through we were happily flabbergasted. We sensed that Johnte was being a little circumspect about the exact location of the wave but asked him to supply a few words about the context of the critical ride. Thankfully he obliged. “I hadn’t quite reached the so-called ‘channel’ yet whilst this wave loomed. I could see Loges (Sam Logan) on the rope, braced and about to get whipped in. The wave jacked. There’s such an unpredictable element at this spot, not knowing if it’s going to crumble or throw out wider than your nana’s garden shed. This one is probably about as thick and as wide as is it gets here. Everyone was pretty fired up after this, hooting and screaming - the vibes where high! Matty V was frothing from the shoulder, throwing an arm up to salute. Little did MV know at that time he was about to wrangle a pretty wild one not long after.” There is a lesson there. Spare us the hype and send us the goods.
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04. Lightbox
S URF ER: M IA FRAN C I S • PHOTO : PAULA O RTEG A • WO RD S: PAU L A O RTEG A & M IA F RAN C IS
Raging waters, shocked residents fleeing from their homes, families displaced and locals living in fear of what was next to come. The second ‘one in 500-year flood’ in the Northern Rivers in the space of a month. March came with catastrophic rainfall and a cluster of floods that reached a new record of 14.4 metres in Lismore. Coastal and regional town centres became not just inundated but submerged. For many in the Northern Rivers, surfing is a catharsis, a livelihood or a source of therapy – a daily ritual, which brings a reliable sense of joy. After the floods, locals were informed that untreated sewage, fuel and high concentrations of heavy chemicals were leaking out of the rivers and into the ocean.
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It’s well-known that bull sharks love to congregate around river mouths, especially after rainfall. Perhaps the floating cow carcasses and dead fish were a draw card for the feisty predators, but water tanks, car doors, millions of micro plastics, oil cans, and almost anything else you can think of were probably less appetising.
crisis. Bound by common plight, there were countless conversations with friends in the lineup about how to help others during the floods. Community spirit thrived but as the second flood hit, the questions about climate change resonated. What if this wasn’t a ‘one in 500-year flood’ but a new annual disaster?
All we’ve done to short-change the environment has suddenly been put on show and is funnelling out right before our own eyes. As population grows, development continues and water levels rise, our lives and environment will change. Our natural world is valuable but vulnerable, and so are we! The Despite the danger, it was a time in the floods have shown both to be true. Northern Rivers when surfers really needed surfing as a coping mechanism for the flood It was a warning sign to all. Strange odours diffused from the ocean and reports of people getting sick from being in the water circulated. With each daily surf check, you questioned if it was worth the risk.
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Head Dips BEHIND THE COVER: EMPTY ALASKA BY MARK MCINNIS We had been to that region of Alaska a couple of times shooting with my dear friend, Josh Mulcoy, for his ‘Within Reach’ movie. Josh, his best friend Aaron Bierman (pictured) and filmer, Mike ‘Drone’ Cochran, ended up in Alaska a few days before me on this trip. When I arrived, they weren’t there to pick me up because they got their truck stuck in the sand. As they were digging the truck out, Josh noticed that at the ver y top of a world-class left point, there was a ver y oddly placed sandbar in a spot he’s never seen waves break, even after 30 years of frequenting the joint. The next morning, the left was firing, but as the wind switched, I looked up toward the top of the point and saw a flawless A-frame detonating near the black sand shore. I showed Josh and Aaron a few photos when they came in and they didn’t even change. We just drove straight to the top of the point. They hopped in, but quickly realised they were no match for the raging current. As darkness fell, we went home with our tails between our legs, but knew the next morning was going to be the day. And that’s what you see here. All the elements aligning. They both caught waves, but the truth is, the best ones went unridden. And that’s just fine. I’m just glad I was on the beach to see it.
FCS II CI UPRIGHT FINS
CLASSIC AD: BOLLÉ GETS FRISKY - FEBRUARY, 1991
Where the original, highly raked CI fin is more suited to classic down-the-line thrust and drawn out turns, the reality is, most surfers are riding smaller waves and beach breaks that require quicker turns, and a fin that allows for more pivot. The template comes to life in punchy hollow waves, but can also suit conditions where you need the start up speed to get going. “You’ll find the CI Upright will help you in smaller and steep, quick waves, any time where you need quickness of response and the ease of top to bottom transitions.” Britt Merrick
surffcs.com.au
Bolle originated in a small French town in the 1880s where it produced hair combs and ornaments – how practical. A hundred years later it was a successful eyewear brand making a slick play for the surf market with its risqué full-page ads in Tracks. In the 80s Bolle’s ski goggles and sunglasses were marketed as offering 100% protection from UV rays, but someone in the creative department obviously figured that the brand needed something a little sexier than statements about sun-
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beams. And so we have the kind of fabulously fun double entendre that you could get away with in the 80s and 90s. Of course the ad’s cheeky angle would have been amplified by fears around Aids, which were at the forefront of people’s minds by the late 80s. The Bolle campaign may have parodied the ubiquitous safe sex message of the time, but it was certainly way more fun than the infamous Grim Reaper ads; and maybe unintentionally just as effective.
INTRODUCING THE
TRACKS PRINT STORE
FEATURING LEGENDS, FANTASY LINEUPS AND EVERYTHING YOU LOVE ABOUT SURFING, TRACKS ART PRINTS ARE NOW READY FOR YOUR WALLS. With its total assault on the senses, surf culture has always been fertile ground for the creatively inclined. Whether it’s enchanting, fantasy lineups, caricatures of surfing icons or reverential portraits, surf art has evolved as a curious genre that amplifies the pleasure associated with our favourite pastime. Featuring a cross section of well-known artists, the Tracks art store celebrates the zany, the humorous, the serious and the sensitive. Take a peak and get a different perspective on surfing.
TRACKSMAG.COM.AU/STORE/ART-PRINTS
Head Dips GOOD READ: SALTS AND SUITS - PHIL JARRATT Perhaps you have been watching ‘Barons’ on the ABC, which is loosely based on the heady days of the surf industry in Australia. While ‘Barons’ has its moments and we are looking forward to series two, it does take a lot of creative license with the material. For the real story about the evolution of the surf industry in Australia and beyond you can’t go past Phil Jarratt’s meticulously researched and engagingly written ‘Salts and Suits’. The book tells the story of those who have shaped the commercial frontier of surfing, a mixture of visionary wave riders with saltwater in their veins and opportunistic suits who dropped-in to sell a subculture.
CLASSIC LETTER - AUGUST 1977 ‘We already surf better than you’
VERBATIM
CONGRATS MULHAM!
“Sierra Lerback, made history not only by being the first woman in the finals but by actually beating the boys and taking the first-place trophy home!” – Tr a c k s E d , L u k e K e n n e d y, o n Sierra Lerback’s historic win in the open ‘Old Mal’ division at the Noosa Festival of Surfing. See pg. 040 for a feature on the stylish, Hawaiian born, Australian based surfer.
Congratulations to Tracks Director David Mulham on the birth of his grandchild, from all the Tracks family.
Over the touro season at the surf beaches, a few of us chicks have just started to get into surfing down here on the Mornington Peninsula. It’s quite hot when the local surf crowd around us really encourage us to rip into it and carve up some of those waves (of coure that’s not the problem). It’s just when the so-called BIG MEN touros come down and they start hassling us and calling us the Puberty Blues girls. Well, some of us chicks were in fact surfing before that came down so all you trout-mouths out there, SMELL HORSE and lay off us chicks. Is it that you are worried that some of us chicks will be better than you some day? Well stop worrying because some of us already are. So suck eggs. Two Aggro Surfie Chicks Mornington Peninsula, Vic.
THE HUNGRY SURFER WITH JENNY BENNY: PEANUT BUTTER & MAPLE WALNUT OATMEAL BOWL 1 cup oats • 1 cup water • 1 cup milk of choice • A generous pinch of salt • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon for topping • Toppings: 1 TBSP Protein Hemp Seed Peanut Butter • Mixed frozen fruit or fresh opt • Toasted coconut flakes • Toasted walnuts or nuts of choice • Maple Syrup to taste The colder months are upon us kids, but don’t let it get you down, we’ve got the goods to keep you warm and toasty before or after a cooler sesh in the water. Hearty, healthy and filling, oats are the perfect all round winter warmer.Cook oats according to the package directions with the water, milk and salt. Top oats with peanut butter, fruit, coconut flakes and nuts. Finish with a sprinkle of cinnamon and lashings of maple syrup. Too easy! Note: Add more or less salt to taste. Use almond or cashew butter instead of peanut. @jennybennyfoodco
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Unearthed I
PHOTOS FROM THE ARCHIVES OF STEPHEN COONEY
MAURI CE C O L E, TR AC KS OFFI C E S KATE SESSIO N WHALE BEACH , MI D 70S
Maurice would drop into the Tracks office when he could tear himself away from the cold water and clean lines of Bells. Always upbeat and keen for some fun, on this occasion it was decided to test drive a bunch of skateboards. I think Maurice was tacking uphill while Phil Jarratt and Frank Pithers were exploring the downhill. For more on Maurice, turn to page 050
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Ride Everything THE WONDEFUL WORLD OF FOAM AND FIBREGLASS
The Equalizer PAUL MENCZER’S LATEST MODEL LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD. Written by Luke Kennedy
The Equalizer, from the tiny yet fiery frecklefaced grommet turned pro World Champion surfer from Bondi Beach. Pauline learnt to surf on the hectic city beach break on half a snapped foamie and understands exactly what it’s like battling for waves on equipment that’s not ideal for the conditions.
trim exceptionally well and carry over flatter sections with minimal effort. The subtle single to double concave on the underside combined with the five fin option, gives you the ability to tailor this model to the conditions whether it be a quad, thruster for more drive, or a twin fin set-up for a looser approach.
The Equalizer, designed by Pauline, is a fun all-round board that has increased width for extra stability along with volume under the chest for easy paddling and to help get into waves without compromising performance. This shape is not only forgiving for the entry level surfer, but it maintains the flow and drive to enable surfers to keep progressing, and for more experienced riders, to push through more critical manoeuvres without hesitation. Medium to low entry rocker helps with paddle power and glide while allowing the board to
Pauline’s concept for the Equalizer was always on her mind, however the name had to be something meaningful. Pauline ran a competition to see who could come up with a title that encompassed what she believes in and represents. A young Bondi gal named Marley McCallum nailed her vision with this entry. “The Equalizer - because you helped fight for equal recognition for women in surfing and sport. Your board could help girls like me be equal to all the doubting guys out there! It might give me special powers”. This state-
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ment perfectly reflected how Pauline feels about inclusivity and all the years of hard work to eliminate the gender stereotype within the surfing world. The Equalizer empowers girls and women of all ages and ability levels to give it a go. It cultivates confidence and self-belief and encourages the rider to feel 100% worthy of their place in the line-up. If you are looking for a versatile, forgiving all-round shortboard that offers stability for the beginner rider and glides into subpar conditions with ease, while also excelling in pumping waves, then the Equalizer by Pauline Menczer will be your go to. For more info head to: thesurfboardwarehouse.com.au
Opposite: ‘93 World Champion, Pauline Menczer proudly displays her new ‘Equalizer’ model. Photo: Jarra Bitton
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Unearthed II
PHOTOS FROM THE ARCHIVES OF STEPHEN COONEY
MP ’S BAT TAI L / FAN G TAI L
Michael Peterson, Coolum Beach QLD mid 70s. Some called it the ‘Fangtail’, I knew it as the ‘Bat Tail’. Whatever it was called, it created a buzz on the beach and a psychological affront to his competitors. At a Pa Bendall contest prior to his heat, people were questioning this MP creation’s surfability. In small, short beachbreak conditions he blitzed the event. People were now questioning their own choice of equipment and if anyone other than MP could tame the Bat Tail. Check out Steve Cooney’s autobiography ‘Unearthed’ at cyclopsproductions.com.au
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Fantasea
ARTI ST: KENTARO YO S HI DA TITL E : S UN I S O UT
Kentaro Yoshida is a talented illustrator/artist and was born and raised in a rural fishing village in Toyama, Japan. At the age of 18, Kentaro decided to move to Australia in pursuit of the English language, sunny beaches and a more balanced lifestyle. He now resides on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, where he spends his days surfing and producing work for various international brands, as well as personal commissions. He created this piece awhile reflecting on what was a strange, and for some, tragic summer the east coast of Oz had been through. From floods to shark attacks and everything in between. “It looks like the season has changed in Sydney, and it was a strange summer this year. There was so much rain and not many proper summer days, and I didn’t see much sun. But there was plenty of swell and warm water, so at least I surfed heaps in boardies. I hope the water gets clearer, and there are no more shark alarms, or rain. Keen to see the sun too!”
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Callum Robson: Full Throttle AUSTRALIAN SURFING HAS A FORCEFUL NEW PRESENCE. Written by Luke Kennedy
WHEN CALLUM ROBSON PULLED ON A SINGLET TO SURF IN HIS ROUND 16 HEAT IN PORTUGAL THIS YEAR, THE FABLED SUPERTUBOS WAS AN A-FRAME WONDERLAND. As the offshore-tickled wedges pitched and hissed up and down the beach, the crowds were ankle deep in the action, offering a roar of approval every time a surfer made an exit from one of those sexy, lime-lit hollows. The sort of conditions that make viewers at home wish they could climb right through the screen and prompt pro-surfers to bristle with the knowledge they had the best gig in the world. Callum’s only task for the day was to get barrelled beneath blue skies. The carpentry apprenticeship he’d started a couple of years ago was a long-forgotten memory. There would be no more sweating beneath the northern NSW sun, no more power-tool sound effects; no more limbs that ached with the day’s labours and had to be dragged into the surf. His job was to hit lips now, not hammer nails. As it happened he lost the heat to Conner Coffin, but the result, a 9th, was good enough to shore up his position on a tour that now threatened rookies and mainstays alike with a ruthless mid-year cut. However, any dismay Callum felt over the loss paled alongside the suffering being endured by his friends and family back home in northern NSW. As he enjoyed the Portugal sunshine, Evans Head was being battered by relentless floods. “I felt very helpless over in Portugal. And just felt like everyone was going through crazy times,” recalls Callum as he makes the drive from Perth to Margaret River, flanked by a support crew of family. Callum was sent unfathomable images of the destruction at home, including footage of a shipping container being washed through the second storey of his family home. Meanwhile you needed a snorkel or a submarine to travel down the main street of the nearby town, Woodburn. Determined to draw attention to the plight of his community, Callum immediately donated 20% of his prize money from Portugal to the neighbourhood centre in Evans Head. “A massive part of my story is obviously where I
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come from,” he explains. … “It means a lot to me to be able to give back to them.” Arriving home from Portugal, Callum was shocked by the scene of devastation. “It felt like a deadest war zone. The defence force was everywhere with big trucks and big machinery to take away the mess. Out the front of my parent’s house there was a pile a few meters high and 10 meters long, just all stuff, which was pretty hectic.” The spontaneous 20K donation had come from a surfer riding a naked board, bereft of stickers promoting brands who might have elected to support the youngest rookie on tour. Callum had no sponsors. His prize money was his only source of cash flow, but he still felt like he owed his brethren back home, not least of all because they had helped finance his quest to make the CT Tour. When Callum qualified for the Challenger series in 2021, his lack of sponsorship support meant he was forced to launch a crowd-funding campaign to get him to the events. The majority of the funds that filtered through the platform came from the Evans Head community. So when Callum saw what was unfolding at home he felt compelled to give back. “More than the actual money, it was just talking about getting it out there, using my platform to try and raise awareness, because the government didn’t really come to the party as much as everybody thought was necessary.” Over the phone he explains that he plans to continue the campaign by getting a board signed by all his pro-surfing peers in WA and auctioning it. Watching the Margaret River webcast a few days later, the cameras panned to big Cal in the competitor’s area. In front of hundreds of thousands of viewers, he was clutching a board decorated with signatures and spruiking an auction that would raise funds for flood victims. Like his frontside snap, the kid had follow through.
Below: A big result at Bells, bullet-proof self belief and trusty ‘Sparrow’ craft meant that Callum had already made the mid-year cut by the time he arrived in WA. Photo: WSL/Aaron Hughes
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Top: Callum has been cast as a well-grounded power surfer but he can grow wings when he wants to. Photo: Swilly Bottom: Lime-lit dash across a Coolangatta straight that promises tunnel vision down the line. Photo: Swilly
I first met Callum back in 2019 on a swellblessed charter aboard the Managlui, which took us to Simeulue via the Telo Islands and the Banyaks – glorious Indo roaming in a prepandemic time. Callum was part of a crew of aspiring young surfers on the boat who all wanted their piece of the pro-surfing dream. He was 19, transitioning to the big leagues after a distinguished junior career where he’d finished second in the Australasian series, earning him a place in the prestigious World Pro Juniors. Reflecting back on that trip there is a tendency to think about what might have stood out about Callum; if there was a clue that in three years time he would be standing on the podium at Bells, clanging the runner-up trophy, nipping at the winged heels of Filipe Toledo. As we plundered Indonesia’s wave playground back then a couple of things were certainly evident. Despite being one of the best junior graduates in Australia, Callum already well understood the meaning of a hard day’s work. His dad was a builder and had taken him on as an apprentice carpenter, both father and son conceding it was a good idea to have “IT WAS MORE SO THE a back up rather than put all your stocks into a notoEXCITEMENT AND THE THRILL OF riously volatile pro-surfing ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO SURF scene. While Callum wasn’t exactly enamoured with the PIPE WITH TWO OTHER PEOPLE idea of going to a building site every day, the experience AND POTENTIALLY GETTING THE had obviously helped elimiWAVE OF MY LIFE…” I WAS JUST nate any sense of entitlement or complacency.
HUNGRY TO GET THE BEST WAVE I COULD.”
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defensive line. Meanwhile, whenever sessions were reduced to aerial duels Callum showed he most definitely had the flight facilities to match the jumpy crew. **** Callum’s first experience as a fully-fledged CT member was Pipeline. The WSL had flipped the schedule, meaning the welcome party for the rookies was being hosted at one of the world’s scariest surfing venues. Specialists like Florence and Slater have spent a lifetime studying Pipe’s volatilities. Meanwhile, the newbies on tour had to do a crash course, and whilst prepping for their maiden contest they also had to mingle with Pipe’s menacing crowd. Speaking to Tracks prior to the event, Callum expressed an intelligent perspective. “I love surfing in Hawaii. I love surfing Sunset and Pipe and all those spots… It’s always like, Pipe’s uncomfortable, and most of the spots in the lineup…it’s all pretty uncomfortable, but you’ve kind of just got to get comfortable in that situation and embrace it.” Things got ver y real, ver y quickly for the rookie-class of 2022. From the moment the first siren sounded, the contest was blessed with glorious conditions and throughout the event, sky-tickling west swells wrapped around Kaena Point and marched towards the reef at Pipeline. Callum remembers struggling to contain his excitement. “I was super nervous before my first day, but as soon as I got in the water for my first heat and the waves were as good as they were it was more so the excitement and the thrill of actually being able to surf Pipe with two other people and potentially getting the wave of my life…” I was just hungry to get the best wave I could.”
Ever y barrel he scored on that boat trip seemed to taste a little better because he knew that he would otherwise be chewing on sawdust. An appreciation for what a life on the tools might look like also drove him harder, cultivating a sense of gratitude for the joys a career in surfing could bring. Watching live it was evident that Callum wasn’t going to sit on the shoulder at 12-foot Out in the water Callum’s surfing had a raw Pipe and die wondering. He was well aware energy feel. Sometimes he approached sections that the supporters who’d helped fund his so hard and fast you cringed a little when ascendance to the CT wanted to see a young board and body collided with the lip. His solid Australian bravely meeting whatever chalframe hinted at the once promising career lenge Pipe tossed up. As he donned a helmet as a Rugby League centre, and he hit the lip and hurled himself at the folding violence the like a hard-running centre trying to break the phrase, “My, he’s having a dig,” came to mind.
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Top: A blank-board carve through the Bells bowl highlights the fact that Callum’s CT surge came without the backing of a major sponsor. Photo: WSL/Sloane • Bottom: A cool head and clutch surfing have been defining features of Callum’s contest act. Photo: WSL/Ryder
However, judges are less interested in heroics, they need ‘completions’ to make their scorecards tick over. Midway through his first heat, Callum had to check himself. “I almost forgot about competing a little bit and I was like, ‘I’m just pulling into big closeouts. Put your competitive head back on Callum and make the heat.’ Because you never want to end up in that elimination round.” Callum slipped through in second, and then in round 32 claimed his first major scalp of the year, Ethan Ewing. Many fans and pundits have pegged Ewing as the style-king most likely to lead the charge as an Australian World Title contender. Callum’s win sent a clear message that Ewing wasn’t the only surfer from Down Under to watch.
trying to come up with different ways to relay the information in the best way.” So when it came to Bells, Callum was more than ready to take a few pointers from Adam Rober tson and Cahill Bell-Warren. A key focus of those sessions was on approaching Bells with a positive mindset. “We mainly just worked on reframing the negatives into opportunities,” explains Callum. “Bells has so many opportunities; you’ve just got to know how to surf it right. And you’ve just gotta know what turns work out there and how to see it.”
Putting a positive spin on Bells immediately paid dividends for Callum as he marched through his early round heats, dusting Ryan Callinan and Seth Moniz (round one) and Frederico Morais (round three) en route to a By the time the CT rolled into Bells for the career-defining clash with Mick Fanning in the fourth CT event, Callum was in a solid posi- round of 16. tion and safely beyond the cut line. Bells is always a challenging prospect for rookies. Fanning is a four-times Bells champion and While it is steeped in history and celebrated despite his extended absence from full-time for its fabled trophy, it’s competition had shown glimpses of his best also often maligned. Despite in the earlier rounds. There was also huge “I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT winning the event four times, sentimental support for Mick amongst the Kelly Slater has made his Bells crowd, who were eager to see their COMPETING A LITTLE BIT AND dislike for Bells well-known snowy-haired World Champion whip some of and other top surfers often the new, young faces. He hadn’t disappointed I WAS LIKE, ‘I’M JUST PULLING dismiss it as a flabby, flat- them, disrupting the World Title aspirations of INTO BIG CLOSEOUTS. PUT YOUR f aced, burger of a wave. yellow-jersey wearer, Kanoa Igarashi, with a Conscious of not becoming timeless performance in round three. COMPETITIVE HEAD BACK ON dragged into a whirlpool of negativity and making the Mick reminded the fans of a time when fans CALLUM AND MAKE THE HEAT” most of the oppor tunity, Down Under had a World Champion to cheer Callum headed to Bells early and took part in for, meanwhile Callum was trying to become a training camp with Victorian veterans Adam a contender in an era when Australian surfing Roberston, and Cahill Bell-Warren, alongside was struggling to maintain a presence in the Connor O’Leary, Owen Wright, and Molly upper-tier of pro-surfing. Picklum. For Callum, it was also a classic case of being Training and coaching had become an integral asked to prove yourself by toppling your hero. part of Callum’s surfing philosophy. In the “Growing up, Mick Fanning’s been my favoulead up to his CT bid he worked closely with rite surfer… someone I looked up to in terms experienced coaches Peter Duncan (Callum’s of his training and just full stop in life,” he cousin) and Mark Richardson. In 2021 he’d insists. even donned the coach’s hat himself, joining the team at Surfing Australia’s High Perfor- The clash went down in mint, five to six-foot mance Centre. Callum soon found that analys- Bells conditions. For much of the heat Mick ing the surfing of high-flying prodigies had seemed to have Callum’s measure but as the fringe benefits. “It gave me a different under- heat wound down Callum was still just within standing and made me think a lot deeper about striking distance. After Mick slayed a 7.5, he what I was doing with my own surfing … Just kicked off with a confident grin and the crowd by breaking other people’s surfing down and roared. The commentators were pencilling then going home and studying it and just Mick into the next round when Callum took
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Below: With a podium finish at Bells and his recent Challenger series win at Snapper Rocks, Callum Robson has rocketed to fame. Whenever he pulls on a jersey this year, the fans will be tuning in. Photo: WSL/Sloane
“ASKED WHETHER OR NOT THERE WAS ANY SIGNIFICANCE IN HIS SUCCESS ON A BLANK BOARD HE RESPONDS CONFIDENTLY. “I GUESS IT JUST SHOWS THAT I BACK MYSELF”
a wave with a minute and 35 seconds remaining. Robson stroked into a stretched ribbon of Southern Ocean that invited him to conjure something that would reign in a World Champ who was making a stirring cameo. In numerical terms the rookie was chasing a 7.54. Callum stayed cool and made the rail sing with three, high velocity carves and then double-slammed the lip through the inside. It was clutch surfing at its best and the judges rewarded him with a 7.77, enough to give him a famous win in his first ever match-up with Mick Fanning. “It was something I’ll remember forever for sure,” says Callum, pulling a smile that can be seen even through a phone line. The victory was made a little sweeter when Mick gave him a big hug post-heat and encouraged Callum to “smash,” the next competitor. Later Fanning sent Callum a note offering more considered words of encouragement. “He sent me a message saying well done and I hope you can take it all the way.”
After the final, the mood was buoyant at the Beach Hotel in Jan Juc where Robson was the focus of celebrations amongst his Australian compatriots on tour. He is quick to point out that there is a collective push from the Australian camp at present. “I’m like a massive believer in that group and just being surrounded by people that really genuinely support you, especially when they’re your peers who you’re competing against. We’ve got a great thing going on at the moment.” However, by the same token Callum well understands that pro-surfing is so often a delicate dance, and that much of the art lies in knowing when it’s necessary to extract yourself from the group and focus on your own agenda. “If you buy into everything, then you just follow the crowd,” he offers sagely.
In the wake of his stunning Bells performance, Callum still didn’t have the support of a major sponsor. Rather than expend energy chasing deals, he’s entrusted a manager to take care of Callum almost did take it all the way, crafting his financial backing, so that he can focus on a path to the final of his first ever Bells event. competing with minimal distractions. Asked Ultimately, he was eclipsed by the light-footed whether or not there was any significance Filipe Toledo, the surfer nobody wanted to surf in his success on a blank board he responds against at three-foot Rincon. confidently. “I guess it just shows that I back
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myself, I guess. Yeah, that I trusted myself to do well, which is why I chose to do that.” Callum is well aware that one good result does not cement his future but with a spot on the CT secured for the back end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, Callum can afford to set his sights on loftier goals. He has real faith in his working relationship with shaper, Adam Fletcher from Sparrow surfboards, and like good mate and inspiration Morgan Cibilic, he’d desperately love to haul his way into the top five in his rookie year. He also admits that he has one eye on qualifying for the 2024 Olympics. For the time being, Callum will be approaching every heat the only way he knows how. “I just value just putting everything in, like not taking my foot off the throttle. So that’s where my head’s at.”
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Sierra Lerback lovingly clutches the Keyo ride that propelled her to a famous victory.
ME & K E Y O
HOW SIERRA LERBACK TOOK ON THE MEN AND WON AT NOOSA Written by Sierra Lerback • Photography by Beatriz Ryder
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Opposite: Slack-limbed grace and an irontoed grip coalesce to help Sierra trump a mixed (men and women) field in the Old Mal division at the Noosa Festival of Surfing.
EACH YEAR A WORLD-CLASS FIELD OF LONGBOARDERS DESCEND UPON THE SUNSHINE COAST FOR THE NOOSA FESTIVAL
OF
SURFING.
THE
EVENT
HAS
BEEN
RUNNING IN ITS CURRENT FORM SINCE 1998 AND HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED HAPPENINGS ON THE GLOBAL SURFING CALENDAR. While the festival is an eclectic celebration of surf culture and a carnival atmosphere permeates the expansive site, the competitors are there to win. Amongst the purists, the Old Mal division has traditionally been considered the most prestigious event on the contest schedule. Past winners include Harrison Roach, Matt Cuddihy and Matt Chojnacki. Of the 33 competitors who pulled on a singlet in the Old Mal division this year, only three were women. Hawaiian-born, Aussie-based, Sierra Lerback, made history not only by being the first woman in the finals but by actually beating the boys and taking the first-place trophy home! Sierra secured her victory with a deftly executed hang ten that made the Noosa crowd wild with delight and the judges hastily punch in the highest wave score of the finals day. The masterful ride also earned Sierra the acclaim of her fellow competitors, who could do little but smile as they watched their chances glide away, 10 toes already wrapped around the trophy. Conscious that her victory represented a giant leap forward for women’s surfing, Sierra happily dedicated the win to the cause. “This is for the girls!! To make women surf more!” Here, Sierra talks us through her journey to the podium.
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Opposite: Shock gives way to jubilation as Be Rider captures the moment when Sierra finds out she won the final.
Growing up in Hawaii, surfing came naturally.
realising I’d genuinely love how the board surfed.
Afternoons and weekends were always spent at the beach with friends and family. My dad used to bring me with him to the surf and I’d hang on to the front of his longboard when I was three, and when I was seven I competed in my first surf contest – the Hui O’Pokahu contest on the west side of Maui.
My old Mal now plays just as big a part as any other board in my quiver; some days it’s the perfect board for the conditions.
Entering the Old Mal division at the Noosa Festival last year was purely for fun and to be a part of an iconic event – I made it to the semis and was so I’ve competed my whole life, beyond stoked. a lot of it was very shortboard focused but I realised in I thought I’d give it another high school I didn’t have the crack this year with no expeccompetitive drive, so I took a tations or goals other than to step back from competing seri- have a good time. Every heat I ously. surfed in could have well and truly been a final – it felt I started to enter longboard like they were all stacked with divisions just for fun and incredible talent. loved the whole vibe of the longboard scene. I first came to As I progressed through the Noosa when I was 16 for the rounds, it was hard to believe Noosa Festival of Surfing and what was happening. Then came have been back every year since the finals – it was beyond me to have made it that far and I was – seven times in total. honoured to be the first female I bought my Keyo old Mal last to do so. I would have been year, I’ve always loved how happy with dead last in the final old Mals look and the romanti- but to take home the win is one cism around them. I’d thought of my proudest accomplishments. it would just be a nice piece of history to have with me, not
I DON’T FEEL LIKE I WON, I FEEL LIKE WOMEN WON. TO BE ABLE TO BE THE FIRST FEMALE TO EVER WIN THE OLD MAL IS MIND BLOWING AND I’M SO PROUD TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THIS STEP FOR FEMALE SURFERS – TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT WE’RE JUST AS GOOD AS THE GUYS WHEN GIVEN THE CHANCE.”
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All images: Sierra artfully lending a rail to the longboarding Renaissance.
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ME & K E YO >>
SIERRA’S KEYO SURFBOARD BY KEVIN PLATT The board Sierra was riding was from 1966 made by the iconic Kevin Platt in Sydney. Kevin Platt – ‘Platty’ – was part of an elite inner circle of the biggest names in Australian surfing that included Bob McTavish, Midget Farrelly, and Nat Young. His parents, Lance and Jean, were famous ballroom dancers who became surf industry pioneers with their ‘Platts’ line of boardshorts. Meanwhile, Kevin, who had an eye of for the subtleties of design and a scholarly appreciation of surfing history, became a celebrated shaper and a big part of surfboard evolution in Australia. One of Kevin Platt’s signature design techniques was the use of a harder bottom edge, akin to the boards we ride today. Feel the rail on one of Kevin’s early boards and you can see he was on a track to the future.
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Opposite: Whether it’s political radicalism or radical innovation in surfboard design, the Coles know how to make a progressive impact on a culture. Photo: Maccoll
The Many Lives of Cole & Son HOW MAURICE AND DAMIEN MAKE THEIR PRESENCE FELT IN MANY SURF-RELATED SPHERES. Written by Phil Jarratt
DAMIEN COLE, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST AND ONE OF THE MAIN ARCHITECTS OF THE HISTORIC AND SUCCESSFUL ‘FIGHT FOR THE BIGHT’, ARRIVED AT FIRST POINT NOOSA FOR HIS HEAT AT THE NOOSA FESTIVAL OF SURFING IN A BIT OF A FLAP. Cole, 36, wears many hats as national campaigns manager for Surfrider Foundation Australia and a principal of eco-surfboard company Varuna Surf, and he’d been busy on calls and Zoom conferences all morning while his dad, the legendary surfboard designer Maurice Cole relaxed in their beachside holiday apartment. They were about to surf as a team in the ‘family challenge’ event, but as they prepared Cole Sr said: “I forgot the fins.”
my dad. We walked down the beach and had a hug before we paddled out, and I think that was the moment I realised how important this was in both our lives.”
While Damien’s battle against Norwegian energy company, Equinor’s, proposal to deepwater drill for hydrocarbons in the Great Australian Bight, and his two runs at political offi ce as an eco-warrior independent have propelled him into the frontline of the environ“I got so frustrated with him I just boiled over,” mental movement, Maurice, who turned 68 last Damien recalls. “But then I calmed myself down month, has been fi ghting for his life, successand thought, why am I getting worked up about fully battling cancer and diabetes. I’ve known this? Surely, we can borrow some fins! And we Maurice for almost 50 years, and I can tell you, could. I thought, how fortunate am I to have a no one is better equipped for a fi ght than the dad who is an incredible surfer and surfboard passionate, volatile and fearless surfing legend. designer and such an inspiration. We’re here in Noosa and I get to surf out there with my hero,
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Clockwise from top left: Damien, spearheading the battle against Big Oil on the Australian coast. Photo: Jai Seales Occy with Muscles Maurice in the shaping bay. Photo: Hornbaker Maurice dips a wing and knifes a red rail, on a full tilt speed run at Bells. Photo: Ryan
Maurice Cole was born in Terang, Western Victoria in 1954, and immediately adopted by the Coles, staunch Anglicans from Ballarat, beginning a sequence of events that would create a genetic puzzle he still hasn’t solved. When the Coles moved to the coast at Warrnambool in 1960, young Maurice discovered the beach, but it would be another six years before he took up surfing. It soon became his life’s passion, and by 1971 he was shaping surfboards in Torquay, the capital of Victorian surfing.
so much – what can we do for France?” The answer was to for m Surfr ider Foundation Europe, following the model of the US Surfrider, created in 1984 to protect beaches around the world. Curren became the first ambassador for Surfrider Europe, a role he still has today.
While fighting environmental threats in France was the first priority, Surfrider and Cole soon became embroiled in a much bigger fight. After decades of nuclear testing in the Pacific, creating environmental devastation in its wake, As well as progressing as a shaper and designer, in 1991 France bowed to international presMaurice was soon a champion surfer, making sure and began a moratorium, but within a national finals and winning two Victorian couple of years French President Jacques state titles before being stripped of them Chirac resumed the testing. by the governing body after his 1976 drug convictions. As editor of Cole and Curren set up Surfers Against Tracks surfing magazine Nuclear Explosions (SANE) and during a at the time, I campaigned, World Championship event in Hossegor, they “I REMEMBER FEELING THAT alongside our ar t director led a march on the deputy prime minister’s Stephen Cooney, for Cole’s holiday house by the lake, six-year-old Damo SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY, AND reinstatement. Reunited in by his side. Maurice remembers: “From that THAT AS SURFERS WE NEEDED Noosa last month after many point on Damien was involved in the environyears, the three of us sat in ment movement.” TO LOOK AFTER OUR OWN PLACE. the surf festival’s beach bar THAT’S HOW I WAS BROUGHT and shared some laughs over Says Damien: “I remember feeling that sense those crazy times. of responsibility, and that as surfers we needed UP: TO ALWAYS LOOK AFTER THE to look after our own place. That’s how I was By the late 80s, Maurice was brought up: to always look after the ocean OCEAN BECAUSE IT ALWAYS LOOKS an inter nationally recog- because it always looks after us.” AFTER US.” nised surfboard designer working with a string of World Champion As the Cole kids grew up, moving around clients, based with his wife and young family the world following demand for their father’s in Hossegor, France. It was during this period designs, Damien made a conscious decision to that he formed a close relationship with the get out from under the shadow of his largerenigmatic young Califor nian surfer Tom than-life dad and follow his own path. He spent Curren, who was also living in France. Riding a years in construction and the mining industry quiver of MC custom shapes, Curren charged before seeing the light and returning to the his way to his third World Title in 1990. ocean. In 2015, he began a course in environmental science, and got heavily involved with During that title campaign, he and his gun local community groups, ultimately leading to shaper were driving home from the Lacanau his role in the paddle-out protests that won the Pro one night when Maurice leaned into Battle of the Bight. him and said: “This place has given us both
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Centuries from now surfing connoisseurs will revisit Tom Curren’s sublime carve on a Maurice Cole design and marvel at the synergy between rider and craft. Photo: Servais
Below: Despite the many curve balls life has thrown his way, Maurice remains vigilant in his pursuit of surfboards that blow minds.
“I’VE BEEN CLOSE TO DEATH OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS,
AND
DAMO
LIVED
THROUGH THAT WITH ME ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS, SO WHEN THE
OPPORTUNITY
AROSE
TO JOIN IN THIS WONDERFUL EVENT, WE JUMPED ON IT.”
Although at the peak of his career Maurice Cole was said to have made more than $1 million a year, by this time his fortunes had changed. An ambitious surfboard co-operative called BASE had failed with a multi-milliondollar trail of debt, he was fighting cancer and depression, and he was grappling with DNA testing being unable to find the Aboriginal antecedents he’d believed were his since early childhood, when, “I was the only blackfella in my class.” While Damo had found his way, Maurice was struggling, and that was reflected in a new phase of an always-loving father/son relationship. Says Damien: “My dad was a huge influence on me for the first 25 or even 30 years. After that it probably changed a bit to where we talk on a level playing field now. We have long discussions about the issues and we definitely don’t agree on everything, but that’s levelled out over the last five or six years as I’ve developed my skills.” When Damien took the environmental fight to the political stage and contested the Victorian seat of Corangamite as an independent, Maurice says he made a conscious decision to pull back from the front line. “I decided to watch my son do this by himself, to get out from my shadow. He got to the last few days
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[of the campaign] and the wheels started to fall of years, and Damo lived through that with me off, and that’s when you’ve just got to fuckin’ on a day to day basis, so when the opportube there to catch them and take care of them.” nity arose to join in this wonderful event, we jumped on it.” Damien: “The most loving thing he did was to turn up at the pre-election polling booth and And the identity issue? Having grown up say to me, I’m here, what do you need? I said believing himself to be an Indigenous AustraI needed some food and a pair of shorts and lian, and having spent much of his adult life he came back half an hour later with both. He with close relations to several mobs around wasn’t trying to tell me how to do anything, it the country, Maurice now finds that the DNA was just pure support.” evidence is inconclusive. His good friend Professor Lennie Collard, a Whadjuk NyoonMaurice: “That’s me learning from him. We’ve gar Elder and academic on Rottnest Island, always had a strong bond but from a father’s told him: “Don’t worry about it, you’re one of perspective the hardest thing to do is let your us.” For now, that’s good enough for Maurice. kids fall over, to let them make their mistakes. Damo and I have disagreements, meltdowns, He says: “I guess one way of looking at it, and no punch-ups fortunately because I’m too old this is a thing I’ve discussed with my sisters, and weak now.” when we hear bagpipes, nothing tugs at the heart. When we hear didgeridoo, it stops us in Damien: “It’s by no means a perfect relation- our tracks. To me it’s about defining what an ship but what makes our bond so strong is that Australian is. The European colonial culture we can come back an hour or a week after a has only been here for a couple of centuries. blow-up and make things right. Communica- The original Australian culture has been here tion is the key, and we have that.” for 50,000 years. Regardless of who or what we think we are, we need to embrace that first Surfing together as a team in Noosa for the culture and appreciate and nurture it.” first time ever put a new seal on that relationship. Says Maurice: “It was a very emotional thing for both of us, but particularly for me. I’ve been close to death over the past couple
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Opposite: Cam Scott enjoying life on surfing’s unhinged highway. Photo: Bill Morris
Life’s Never a Drag for NOTNOT FRICTION-FREE DEVOTEE AND ARTIST, CAM SCOTT. Interview by Zach Havard
FINLESS SURFING HAS LONG BEEN A THING, THE EARLY HAWAIIANS RODE ALAIA BOARDS, WHILE MORE RECENTLY DEREK HYND POPULARISED THE ACT OF TAKING A SOMEWHAT CONVENTIONAL BOARD, PULLING OUT THE FINS AND WHIRLING DOWN THE LINE AT J-BAY, SOMEWHERE ON THE CUSP OF CONTROL AND CHAOS. We also know that Kelly Slater started out as a wave-slider. As a kid growing up in Cocoa Beach Florida, Kelly learned to pull 360’s and mid-face spins on a finless bodyboard. The unhinged childhood helped him to reinvent surfing with a dizzying mix of reverses and rotations. In the modern age, surfers have turned to the novelty foam crafts and bodyboards to get their friction-free fix. Some, like Jordan Rodin, have crafted futuristic-looking shapes with fl atter rockers, gnarly channels and straighter rails to really push the envelope of speed on a wave. Enter Cameron (Cam) Scott, otherwise known as NOTNOT, an avid fins-free enthusiast and street artist from Sydney’s eclectic east. Cam boasts over 50 so called ‘things’ in his quiver, from cut-down Soft Tops to his handmade, wooden Alaia and their foam brother the ‘Albacore’. Most recently, Cameron has been working with Softlite on a signature model, combining two of his favourite things, art and finless surfing.
The creative expression Cam finds in his finless wave sliding; aligns with his various, dry hair pursuits which include screen-printing making sunglasses and crafting his own version of the hand-shaped Alaia boards. Meanwhile, as an artist, Cam often seeks to wrestle our attention away from the screens and ask questions about the role social media plays in modern day society. His work regularly features on walls and art spaces around the Eastern Beaches and Inner West of Sydney under his alias NOTNOT. In 2019, Cam took to the stage at the wellknown, independently organised public speaking event TEDx, where he spoke about ‘Digital Realities’. In the 15-minute dissertation, one of the more curious subjects he discussed was the ironic reaction to his most celebrated work. The piece, which critiqued Instagram culture, ended up being photographed and posted on the world’s most popular street art Instagram account.
Over the following pages, Cam discusses his art Cam was originally a bodyboarder who roamed and what drives him to seek a friction-free fix. in search of reefs and slabs, but with challenging chunks of ocean in short supply it became harder and harder to find joy out of belly sliding two-foot closeouts.
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Opposite: Cam’s provocative art prompts us to ask if we are liberated by technology or making a rapid descent into a digital dystopia?
Cam, can we start by explaining what it is you do? Cameron – I’m Cameron Scott, otherwise known as NOTNOT. I live in Bondi, working casually, selling sunglasses, finless surfing and commercial screen-printing.
I think they actually tap into innate feelings within us all, and it’s pretty important to be aware of that. If you just consider them all as pretty inconsequential, you can be consumed by them in the long run. I try to draw people’s attention to the core influence that the interactions can have.
Can you describe your art practice, how did you get into the world of street art?
The clickbait stuff – I feel weird being an artist and posting content on social media. So I just try to draw attention to the idea of clickbait, Screen-printing is probably like the main prac- although it’s not really a concern in the fourth tice. I studied that at Uni and found that you estate journalism area, it’s developed into more can actually do all kinds of things aside from of a mentality in my mind. We are constantly just printing t-shirts and posters. In terms of creating this form of social clickbait for each conceptual basis, I tend to make things that are other. And although I do it with specific intenaffecting me at the time or interesting to me. tions of self promotion or getting my artworks So, that could be anything out there, I can for the most part, see that postfrom my love for finless ing selfies on social media is a weird form of surfing or the incredible clickbait that encourages people to click on “A LOT OF PEOPLE TAKE AWAY influence that social media whatever you are casting out into the online and digital technologies are ether. It’s how the world functions these days, A MORBID INTERPRETATION having over me. Whatever is but I guess the work is trying to draw attention OF THOSE SKELETON WORKS on my mind really. to why they are doing that and why they feel the need to create this kind of social clickbait. BUT IT’S ACTUALLY JUST A WAY Have you got some key influences in your work? I can imagine working as a street artist OF REPRESENTING THE CORE in a suburb like Bondi or even a city like EFFECT OF WHAT THESE DIGITAL To be honest I actually try Sydney has both challenges and perks. not to look at too many other TECHNOLOGIES AND SOCIAL artists because I work at the I love being in Bondi haha! I’ve kinda got a MEDIA INTERACTIONS HAVE ON Museum of Contemporary pretty good relationship with the council workAr t, so I am surrounded ers, all of a sudden instead of painting over OURSELVES. ” by art all day. Standing in my stuff they are sort of preserving it these galleries, maybe taking in too much of that days which is pretty sick on their behalf. It’s stuff can kind of conflict with your own trajec- a nice melting pot (Bondi) for a suburb that tory in what you’re doing. So I try to just focus has such a strange mix of super, high-energy on my own practice rather than anyone else’s. backpacker/going-out vibes, young families and relaxed markets. Plus a nice mix of natuYour TEDx talk was really interesting, it ral beauty and urban energy. So yeah, I froth it. seems that people have differing responses to your work as it’s focused on such a large In the Inner West there is a lot of focus on street thing in today’s life. Can you elaborate a art, and there is a big community out there, we little on the skeleton and clickbait works? don’t quite have that here (Bondi). There is the sea wall but that’s pretty closely monitored A lot of people take away a morbid interpre- and is by approval. So when it comes to findtation of those skeleton works but it’s actu- ing other street artists to bounce off and have ally just a way of representing the core effect a community in the Eastern Suburbs there is of what these digital technologies and social not that much… but to be honest that means media interactions have on ourselves. A lot of more space for me! Ha. people pass them off as being superficial, but
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Below: Cam’s friction free philosophy empowers him to hover on the cusp of chaos and control - some say that’s the most fun space to be in. Photo: Morris • Left: Are you a slave to social media?
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Below: For Cam, fins are optional, while skulls are essential.
How did you actually get into finless surf- a few more. In terms of the style of riding, I ing, and do you ever ride something a little love that feeling of being in control and out more high-performance? of control at the same time. Like teetering on the edge of control is such an incredible feelI actually grew up on the boog with the sick ing. Sadly, as you get a bit ‘better’ that feellittle community down at Tamarama. But yeah ing of walking the line between disaster and as you get older, grovelling on the bodyboard something sick isn’t as rewarding because you isn’t quite as fun as it used to be for most realise that you can get a handle on control people. So finless surfing kind of filled that once you get over that experience hump. But bit of a void for me and allowed me to stay now I like trying to push into zones that some frothed when the waves weren’t exactly pump- people might not expect to see someone surfing. I went from Tom Wagner’s Albacore, the ing finless, like trying to get pitted and into blue-white-blue board that I fell in love with… bigger waves … seeing what little combos you and proceeded to snap about 10 of them. Then can throw together. surfing longer finless boards, or long boogs. Now I have a quiver something stupid, about You’ve been on the Softlite boards for a 50 things. I love chopping up old foamies and while now, can you tell me about the new seeing the way I can convert it into a nice signature model you have just put out? finless sled. I would have no idea what I would be doing on a shortboard. Often, I get guys Originally, I was just throwing around a couple asking me in the surf, ‘Ohh how do you go on of designs and I went with the clickbait work a thruster?’ And I actually think I would battle because I thought it worked with the surfing really hard, ha. thing as they are little fishy hooks made to go in the water. Softlite actually changed up one And what do you enjoy the most? of the processes for this board, they used a mould for another board which has some mesh A combination of all things, obviously you and harder rails, then I sand down the rails a think that fins are made to cut through the little bit so they become more narrow and can water, but without them you can get onto cut into the face of the wave a little more. I am everything so easily. In a pretty populated in love with this model now I pretty much surf space like the Eastern Beaches it helps to get it more than anything
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Before I knew who you were, I knew about and had seen plenty of the share boards down at North Bondi, how did that come to light? As I said I love tinkering with old boards or foamies, seeing if I can bring it back to life. Whether it’s the centre fin is busted, and I take it out and turn it into a twinny. Doing that over the years meant I had this ridiculous collection of old foamies that I really loved but I never surf. So, I took one of the really old ones, like the Coolite giant white Styrofoam things and strapped them down to the metal railing next to the beach, wondering how long this would last if I wrote ‘North Bondi Share Board’ on it. And the first one lasted like half a year, it fully like restored my faith in humanity and it was pretty sick. So, ever since then I’ve been bringing down the odd one that I don’t like surfing. I barely even bring a board down anymore, it’s all just people donating this and that and I just write North Bondi share board on it.
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SCALING MOUNTAINS AND SQUEEZING THROUGH CAVES, ON A MYSTERIOUS, ROCK-HEWN ARCHIPELAGO.
PEAK PERFECTION. Photos
UK IS
+
Captions
PHOTOGRAPHER, RARELY
LOCATIONS
FOUND ON
THE
by
Al
AL AT
Mackinnon
MACKINNON THE
SURFING
STAPLE MAP.
Mackinnon prefers to let his peripatetic tendencies lead him to more remote locations, or at least ones that conjure a different mood and range of photographic possibilities. He doesn’t like to compromise on wave quality so his interest in obscure geographic settings is complemented by a keen eye for the nuances of swell forecasting. Then of course he requires willing co-conspirators; intrepid types who prioritise a lonely, stand-up tube over underfloor heating and a good wi-fi connection. On this occasion, Al was joined by brothers, Greg and Rusty Long, and Wil Banks. The quartet journeyed to a vertiginous archipelago where helterskelter roads slink around soaring cliffs, seemingly inaccessible waves dare you to make a rocky descent and an air of old-world mystique permeates the day-to-day experience.
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Prior to paddling out, the lads were pulling out 7’6”s, that was until I saw a macking set plough through the lineup accompanied by 50-metre rooster tails whipped up by the howling offshore. A brief conflab took place and semi guns were sidelined in favour of heavier artillery. Rusty had this fresh yellow board, I think it was a 9’0”, or maybe 9’6”. Oftentimes entry and exit from this spot are more terrifying than the waves, but Rusty – the jammy fucker – had a smooth entry off the rocks behind the point. After timing the paddle out perfectly, he arrived in the lineup right on time for one of the better sets of
the day, turned around and stroked into an absolute bomb. Holding the steep take-off, he set the bottom turn and pulled up into the sizeable pocket right down the line. First wave on that board, clearly in sync, he later remarked, “I think that’s a magic board.” It made me reflect on how often our assessment of a stick is so reliant on our first session, it sort of colours our experience going forward.
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This was a total fluke, a chance spotting. Wil was in the water at another wave and became quite animated ha. He ended up catching one in and explained that from the lineup he’d seen what appeared to be a really fun wave just a little further along the coast. It couldn’t be seen from land. We set off across the rocks and with a pretty sketchy descent we ended up on an adjacent cobblestone ‘beach’. The wave was somewhere around the next headland, the only problem was there was no way over or around, except by sea. I didn’t have my
suit or water gear that day and was about to give up when I noticed an imperfection in the cliff. On closer inspection I discovered a small hole that led through to the other side. I took off my backpack and made my way through, Wil followed. We couldn’t believe our luck, in front of us was a rippable, and sometimes tubing left, with a shorter right, breaking over a beautiful semi-circular cobble dump with the most incredible backdrop. Definitely one of the more remarkable locations I’ve ever shot surfing.
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This had been one of those days when we’d covered many miles, the weather – particularly the wind – making life difficult on many occasions. The swell direction was cur ious too, several degrees off what one might normally hope for.
through. After that we thought we were on for something special, but as he paddled back out toward more bombs, I saw him paddle over a medium sized lump. I think he was looking to catch the one behind, but from my position I could see it was a little bigger and would break a little further out. Twelve years ago, I’d met these old Califor- He got mowed down by the wall of whitenia lads, they’d been surfing the island for water and it snapped that gun (which was years, and one night, well lubricated with brand new) like a toothpick. I’ve not seen local beer and spirits, they’d spoken of a that before, perhaps a defect in the blank, wave on a less seen coast that could “hold or the glass job, freakish power, who knows? almost anything”, though they hadn’t quite After a long paddle back in on half a board, defined what the ideal conditions were. Wil got stuck in the rocks, being held underwater by his leash wrapped around a rock for Years later, Greg and a few other had sussed some time, whilst trying to retrieve the other it out, and given this swell was building and half. Quite an ordeal, but mostly unscathed had the right attributes, Wil and I thought he was back on land and despite the board this sleeping beauty of a bombie might just was in high spir its, hoping to retur n for come to life. another stab one day. Conditions were immaculate, the swell hitting the reef at the right angle to create these slingshot stretched out wedges. But the swell was slow, it was 30-minute waits between sets. Wil had snagged a couple of little ones when this bomb finally came
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Greg’s approach was clear: sit deeper than most…in fact, all. Take off steep and deep, project off the bottom and set up for the – hopefully gaping – barrel shaped by the fresh offshores. The only problem being that this point is not really known for tubes and the ones people do get tend to be by chance. The strong winds and large period on the swell were keeping more waves open than usual, still, pulling in was potentially a risky exercise. Greg’s very calculating when it comes to big waves, his safety knowledge up there with the best in the world and I would argue his patience second to none. But on this day, he was like a man possessed, perhaps what’s
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known as ‘being in the zone’, with a wave count almost double the next. The ocean had been threatening to extrude a line like this one and when it did, Greg of course was perfectly positioned. All those watching could see the way it stretched along the point, it was deffo a grower and as that wall swung in, we could all see what was unfolding, one of those gloriously vicarious moments. He packed it masterfully, but got clipped on the way out, almost having his head taken off as his gun continued on its trajectory. Other than Greg, I think all of us woulda traded our views for that of the lad on the shoulder.
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Wil Banks loves big waves, but I think he’d probably say he is into slabs even more. It’s hard to say how much time we put in scoping this set-up, perhaps 12 hours plus over the course of a few weeks. It was a fickle beast, but every now and then it would throw an absolutely ridiculous, clean, heavy barrel that would keep our interest. In the end, the fact most waves would clamp, the reef was deadly sharp lava rock, incredibly shallow and conflict was inevitable if you didn’t make the exit, we eventually decided to write it off. As Wil says, “The swells had been somewhat average forcing us to have a more novelty approach to the waves we had been surfing. A no rush attitude was needed to keep expectations low and to not rule out any options, given we were motivated to check anywhere on the island. A rock in the lineup, a little sketchy? Standard issue, we might as well try the wave out. This one we came so close and ultimately decided better of it!”
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These localised downpours would often provide wondrous spectacles, less so if one was caught underneath them. It was interesting as this day the other side of the island was howling onshore and rain lashed, but our side was largely clean offshore, with the occasional circular wind, which was both confusing and frustrating, but also temporary. In between the downpours we scored lovely waves, largely to ourselves. Wil Banks making the most of one of those weather interludes, minutes earlier it’d been raining cats and dogs, and the wind seemed to be going vertically, pressing down on the water, but we knew the deluge wouldn’t last. The sea state would go from semi-chaotic to very manageable in no time at all.
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Opposite: Despite the heavy patronage over the past five decades, the Bukit Peninsular remains one of surfing’s most enchanting destinations.
Postcards from Bali FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE ISLAND OF THE GODS ALL OVER AGAIN. Written by Kate Allman • Photos by Federico Vanno
Surfboard bags swinging around cor ners, knocking over retractable security ribbon poles, and taking up an obnoxious amount of space in the check-in queue at an international airport. Oh, how I’ve missed this. Most of us never thought we’d look forward to traipsing multiple bags and boards through a terminal, then nervously placing our quivers in the care of potentially errant baggage handlers before packing into a flying sardine tin with hundreds of other people for hours. But we also failed to foresee a viral pandemic shutting down the world and forbidding strike missions overseas for two years straight. So, when Jetstar opens the gates to the first international flight to Bali from Australia since March 2020, the hype is real. More than 300 passengers jostle to board the first Boeing 787 heading to Denpasar from Melbourne. I’m par t of the throng, overexcited about scoring a place on my first international flight in two years, blood slowly draining to my toes as I inch forwards in a stagnant line. It’s oddly enjoyable to be back playing human Tetris; shimmying between people juggling a passport, travel documents, boards, fins, spare leggies, wax, rashie, plus copious zinc to block that raging equatorial sun. Not even a check-in standstill can kill my vibe. Blessings from Bukit Bali has been closed to holidaymakers for two years, so of course my luck would have it that
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the ocean plays dead when I arrive. I get off the plane and call Tracks friend and Italian photographer, Federico Vanno, who has lived in Bali for the past decade. He’s reporting there’s no swell on the western side of the island around his home in Canggu. Fortunately, he knows a secret beach down south where we might find a clean, three-foot right-hander. We teeter along the soaring cliffs of the Bukit Peninsula in Fede’s car, looking for waves I can’t see but he promises me exist. They’re disguised by dense jungle and cascading rocky drop-offs.
there will be waves here and everyone comes here,” local legend Betet Merta tells me. Betet is a professional freesurfer and Uluwatu local who we fortuitously run into on the rocky sand strip before the reef. He introduces himself by rattling off a star-studded list of mates he has paddled out with since his teen years (Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, Andy Irons among them).
Betet knows Fede, as well as almost every person in the water today. It comes in handy when he decides it’s his mission to wrangle me priority in the bloated lineup, shouting and Just a couple of years ago, the beach we are whistling whenever someone begins paddling searching for had no vehicle access. Surfers on my inside. Other locals dutifully pull off, would scramble down a rocky jungle path, trip- leaving me – dumbfounded – to drop in. ping over thongs, lugging boards, sweat and grumbles through the tepid heat. Today, there I spend some time sitting on the shoulder, is a comically steep concrete ‘road’ for scoot- almost sweating in the bath-like warm water, ers with board racks to lurch downhill on. But gaining confidence on the smaller right handcars still need to park at the top and you can’t ers. Meanwhile, Betet casually sends it – pullsee the swell from there. ing airs and 360s off the lip with the same nonchalance he probably has when popping a It’s pleasing to see there’s still no such thing Bintang. Each time he paddles back out, he as surf checks around the Bukit – you pay the gains more energy by bullying me into the parking guardians and roll the dice to surf bigger set waves crashing through. whatever Bali’s southwestern point dishes up. “Go for a big one, Kate! Go for this one, THIS Lines of swell begin to pop above the jungle one!” canopy as Fede and I trot with boards and cameras down the concrete snapbacks. Today, The reliable flow of a Bali reef break comes there may be fewer tourists, but we spot back as I stand up and cruise across the face enough locals for a closeout set to scatter with a few soft turns – generous, predictable, multiple figures and boards. and clean. Bali is back and I can confirm it’s a real treat for eastern Sydney locals worn “They call it ‘secret beach’, but the funny thing down by a summer of storms, floods, and is, when there is no swell, everyone knows shark attacks.
“MORE
THAN
300
PASSENGERS
JOSTLE TO BOARD THE FIRST BOEING 787
HEADING
TO
DENPASAR
FROM
MELBOURNE. I’M PART OF THE THRONG, OVER-EXCITED ABOUT SCORING A PLACE ON MY FIRST INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT IN TWO YEARS, BLOOD SLOWLY DRAINING TO MY TOES AS I INCH FORWARDS IN A STAGNANT LINE. ”
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Top: Providing you are surfing with someone who knows how to split the peak, A-frames make everyone happy. Bottom: Tonjo Darmaputra enjoys a slack-limbed moment of sun-kissed, Bali bliss.
“BUMPING ALONG BALI’S WINDY ROADS FEELS FAMILIAR BUT DIFFERENT. THE STREETS ARE NOTICEABLY QUIETER AND CLEANER THAN I REMEMBER – FEWER PEOPLE
ARE
WALKING,
BARTERING,
SELLING, AND/OR LITTERING ON THE ROADSIDES.”
Same-same but different Uluwatu The next day, Fede is on dad duties, so I venture out on my own. A WhatsApp message to local driver Gede (“pronounced G’Day – like the Aussies!” he says) sends me careening around Uluwatu in a taxi, once more in search of a wave. Bumping along Bali’s windy roads feels familiar but different. The streets are noticeably quieter and cleaner than I remember – fewer people are walking, bartering, selling, and/or littering on the roadsides. There are depressing rows of boarded-up shops that fell prey to lockdowns and the lack of tourism. But there are also plenty of new, Instagram-wor thy warung (restaurants) serving colourful acai bowls and vegan tacos to the growing number of digital nomads living out the pandemic in Bali. Gede parks in a monkey-ridden jungle and I leave my things in the car under his watchful eye before trotting down old temple steps to reach the water. The access point I’ve chosen is Suluban Beach – an iconic rocky cove made famous in the surfing film ‘Morning of the Earth’. Whitewash crashes into the cliffs and echoes around the cove but can be a deceptive indication of how big the waves actually are. On any given day you might paddle out into
unseen overhead walls or – like today – playful, smaller lines. The concrete path to the beach has obviously upgraded since MOTE times, when junglebashing was the only way. Today, local women sell drinks and coconuts from eskies to thirsty surfers exiting the water. There’s even an enterprising group of photographers who shoot from the cliff all day and will Airdrop their stills to you for AU$5 per shot (discounts if you buy more). Speaking of enterprising; despite the pandemic, cafes that would impress Bondi influencers are cropping up everywhere. Ours Bali is one such spot, where I later demolish a creamy, crunchy salmon poke bowl I’ll be dreaming of for months afterwards. The venue operates a spa next door and I’m so impressed by the food I talk myself into a massage there. Don’t be fooled by the size of the masseuse: one hour turns me into putty in the impressively strong hands of a little Balinese woman named Sri. It occurs to me that Uluwatu has really gentrified in recent years. I get talking about it to a friendly Australian expat in the surf – Nick – who catches my attention with the vintage Tracks t-shirt he is wearing to block the intense sun. He is among the many digital
nomads who lived out the pandemic in Bali, trading stocks and investments from a cheaprent base. “The pandemic obviously hurt a lot of local businesses, but there are others that have flourished while catering to surfers and the expat community,” he tells me. “Selfishly, it’s been great for local surfers. There are fewer people in the water and those that are here have a really friendly vibe. Locals won’t put up with any surf rage rubbish.” It certainly feels that way when I reach the water. One tanned guy on a yellowing fibreglass calls me to go on a wave with him – “stay on, stay on!” – he yells, grinning. “Ladies first, always!” The rides are long – small but clean. Nothing to get incredibly excited about; but enough to draw grins from about six surfers at this peak, turning off waves to haul themselves on the long paddle back out. Blissfully, there are no beach break gutters or brown stormwater runoff that Sydneysiders have become used to over the past two years.
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Below: How long would you last on a deck chair before you just had to paddle back out again?
Reflections Australians used to fly to Bali like it was a long-distance lover – more than 1.3 million of us visited in 2019. But the pandemic whittled visitor numbers down so far that last year, the total number of tourists dropped to just 51. In an economy that takes an estimated 60-70 per cent of its revenue from tourism, the cliff-like drop-off has stung locals. A taxi driver, Komang Bagiar ta, tells me plenty of Balinese people gave up tour businesses or souvenir shops and retur ned to farms in the countryside. His family survived by literally living hand to mouth – eating just “steamed rice and a bit of egg every day.” “We cut the electricity at 8pm ever y night because we couldn’t afford it. We lived like we were in the jungle,” he says, adding how relieved he was when borders reopened.
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“We are so happy to see Australians back in our country. Please tell your friends in Australia to come and visit. And call me if they need a driver!” If the replies to Tracks’ Instagram stories are anything to go by, the double-vax requirement is keeping a sizeable portion of the surfing community at bay. Hotels and airlines are doing the vaccinated more favours with rock-bottom prices on sales (keep an eye out). Meanwhile, popular lineups like Suluban beach and Single Fin, are from what I see during my trip, relatively empty. Of course, travelling in the post-pandemic world means airport processes are a bit clunkier than before. My mask clings to my sweaty face in taxis and at the hotel buffet (yes, buffets are back!). Indoor settings still require you wear one, but the rules are changing faster than I can reasonably complain about them.
By the time this story goes to print, some – if not most – of the rapidly changing travel requirements will be a thing of the past. More importantly: by the time I’m drifting down a sparkling wall of Java Sea water, pulling up backhand to coast gleefully along the Jurassic-like clifftops of the Bukit peninsula, the whole saga of nose swabs, mask rash and border checks are a distant memory.
The Spirit of Surfing Since 1978. aloha.com.au
Opposite: When going for a surf involves knee deep commitment and a polar bear’s constitution.
I remember exactly where I was when learning Gerry Lopez moved to Bend, Oregon the same way Baby Boomers remember precisely where they were when hearing John F. Kennedy was shot. Locked into memory. Fixed in time. The sun had dipped beneath the slate grey horizon and cold drizzle pattered lightly against the moss-covered shake roof. I was upstairs, in my small bedroom on the aforementioned Oregon’s coast, thought surrounded by Tom Curren, Mark Occhilupo, ‘Mr Pipeline’ Gerry Lopez, and the warm, paradisiacal water caverns he was weaving through so effortlessly. Lightning Bolt board…red. Trunks…black. But what could be better than perpetual warmth? Better than Hawaii or the poor man’s Hawaii, California? And so I lay on my bed, having grown up in my cursed Oregon, surrounded by dreams, flipping through a Surfer magazine worth more to me than gold (I sure do wish it was Tracks but Australian magazines were straight diamonds), when I stumbled across a paragraph in the back ‘news’ section mentioning Lopez’s relocation to my Beaver State. My throat tightened instantly, sweat began to bead on my forehead. Was it true? Could it be true? Had the man lost his mind and accidentally stumbled into… the worst mistake of his life? I fell to my knees and wept for the entire Lopez family. Let it be not so.
but maybe less than me. He actually the beach and shot these waves all lived in Bend, though his family backlit and beautiful. I got home, spent much time in Maui too and his looked at the images and wondered, father and Lopez knew each other in ‘Could I be a surf photographer?’” some way. Surf infused his DNA in a proper way but also the cold, the The enterprising young man, with grey, the Oregon. shockingly great taste in high fashion, got straight to work, digging When Gerry moved here, I was kinda out a yellow notepad, and researchlike, “Why?” McInnis, cold-weather- ing the best cold water surf photoghandsome with good bone structure, raphers, stumbling in the end on the and a fine reddish-blond five o’clock legend Chris Burkhard who agreed to shadow, didn’t despise the cold, give him an internship. grey, desolate like me. Oregon was our home but he, correctly as it From there, the torch was lit. McInturns out, didn’t despise it and nis has gone on to define and shape even began capturing its ‘beauty’. the fringes of what surfing could and should be. Raw, hard, desolate… So how did this journey begin? cold. But will he buckle now that he is, in fact, extremely famous? “This girl I had a crush on, her Will he flip Gerry Lopez’s move and mom was a photography teacher, so I relocate to Oahu’s North Shore from decided to get into it. That rela- still hometown Bend? tionship didn’t last, but I really enjoyed the photography.” I’m so over warm water. Love a surf trip but in terms of creatWas it pure art from the beginning? ing imagery? Cold snow waves are A prodigy fumbling onto his medium? the sexiest thing ever and there are so many places left to discover. “No. I started shooting the stupid- I was flying over Alaska, recently, est stuff ever. Little creeks and and looking out the window at so so stuff. Dumb leaves on the ground. It so many purely undiscovered waves. wasn’t good, and when I saw it knew This is it. it wasn’t. I thought it was terrible but the idea of being a photogra- He [McInnis] is right. I was wrong. pher had taken root and it was what I wanted to do.” Viva the chill and savour the work of an extremely famous photograBut what was the moment it all pher, the most famous to ever come turned? Thousands, millions of out of our Oregon, here. hopeful photographic youth wind up on the shoals of LinkedIn searching for salvation via media management positions. How did an Oregon boy with a dream, and portfolio of dumb leaves, become extremely famous?
Mark McInnis, now an extremely “Well, I was on the northern Oregon famous photographer (then but a coast and it was too big one day. high school student), was equally Absolutely firing Lincoln City. I confused when hearing of the ‘Move’ didn’t paddle but posted up on
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THE COLD/ THE GREY
THE ICE INFUSED DNA OF PHOTOGRAPHER MARK MCINNIS Intro by Chas Smith • Photography by Mark McInnis
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Sometimes you wish you could walk right into the page.
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THE COLD/ THE GREY Clockwise from top left: Snow flake confetti obscures the reeling view. Rear view blues – The kind of lineup you never want to drive away from. Dane Gudauskas, locked in to a shore-hugging howler. A distant coil promises hollow relief from a taxing trek.
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Tony Perez’s rubber-clad stand tall beneath a formidable arch in the ocean.
THE COLD / THE GREY
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THE COLD/ THE GREY Clockwise from top left: Slinky lines beckon beyond the black and white shore. Raptor has lift-off in a stark setting. A quiver of guns. Some kinda sand bottom wonderful.
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THE COLD/ THE GREY
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Clockwise from top left: A couple of emerald freight-trains zippering down an isolated stretch of NZ beach. Steep surrounds give way to a left that offers varying gradients of enjoyment. Josh Mulcoy lays into a frigid wall in front of some postcard Alaskan peaks.
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S URFING IN THE TIGER’S LAIR Written by John Ogden
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Opposite: Tigers have always been part of the Grajagan mystique. On the early voyages to the jungle-fringed Plengkung Point, in the 70s and 80s, their presence was certainly felt . This is a drawing by Mike Wakeland, one of the first G-Land pilgrims.
“SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE ARE DEAD, OTHERS DON’T REMEMBER MUCH, AND EVEN OTHERS HAVE ALTERED THE FACTS TO GLORIFY THEIR OWN INVOLVEMENT.” ~ OWL CHAPMAN Surfers tend to have an inbuilt colonial attitude when it comes to the history of their favourite surf breaks. Not many Californians surfing Malibu would know about the water skills of the Chumash and their seagoing plank canoe, or tomol, just as most Australians have little regard for the long history of the Aboriginal coastal clans who rode the waves for many centuries before them. It was only when a few surfers tried to bust down the doors in Hawaii and got the blowback from Hawaiians who regarded them as disrespecting their culture, that they began to pay more attention. In places such as Grajagan, where wild jungle meets the sea, it seemed easy for the first Western surfers who went there to believe that they had discovered the place. In reality, Blambangan was a revered part of the Majapahit Empire from the late 13th to early 16th centuries. The once great Majapahit Empire is shrouded in mystique. It was the last bastion of the Shiva-Buddha religion before the Arab religion of Islam swept everything before it. East Java still has a strong cultural connection with Bali, which was to become the springboard for the first surfers to mount their expeditions into Java and other islands in the Indonesian archipelago. Like the British Empire, Majapahit was a maritime nation whose ships traded with India, China and the Middle East, and like the British navy they might have ruled the waves but few of their seamen were proficient swimmers. One explanation for this, in the Javanese context, is the folklore surrounding the mermaid-like Goddess Nyai Roro Kidul, a mythical creature claimed to be in control of the waves of the Indian Ocean and known in coastal villages for taking the lives of fishermen or visitors that bathe on the beach (she is said to prefer handsome young men). It is no wonder that this concern, combined with the violent ocean storms and devastating tsunamis that wreaked destruction along that coastline, that Indonesians held strong reser vations about playing in the surf.
researching and documenting the early days of discovery at Grajagan. As well as their own eye-witness accounts, they have conducted hundreds of hours of interviews with those who were there ... and who survived to tell the story. As with many sports, facts can sometimes be distorted, and false claims amplified. Surfers find trouble just agreeing on wave height, so, in an effort to separate fact from vainglory and sanitised corporate surfing history, Ritter and McCoy have written a compelling Western account of Grajagan. Some will question the research as to who was the first to stumble onto this mythical break given recent anecdotal claims and counterclaims, but this account sticks to verifiable endeavours rather than ambit stories muddled by smoke and fading memories. Grajagan is more than just a record of Indonesia’s motley crew of surfing pioneers. It lifts the lid on the mystery surrounding a place where Western surfers found their Shangri La and were bewitched by the jungle spirits and wild animals harboured there. One of the quandaries of recounting these stories is that several of the key players who pioneered the discovery of this legendary reef pass were ganja smugglers. This represents a problem for those in polite surfing society intent on revising and sanitising our collective past. It also presented something of a problem for the researchers in that these ‘pioneers’ didn’t like to have their photos taken or to leave a record of their activities. Now, 50 years after the first surfer set eyes on this paradise, much of the story can be told. Mike Ritter was one of these surfer scammers and shared many experiences with the early surf pioneers who were looking for ways to finance their endless summers. In 1967, following a pot bust and an intense LSD trip, he dropped out of the University of California and set off on the Hippie Trail to Afghanistan and India, where he began smuggling hash and marijuana … and continued for 18 years.
During the Californian-led surfing boom in the 1960s, surfers enjoyed an anti-establishFor their long-awaited book, ‘Grajagan – Surf- ment status not unlike bikers. It was more a ing in the Tiger’s Lair: 1972-84’, co-authors, lifestyle than a sport, and surfers were proud Mike Ritter, and Jack McCoy, have been of their rebellious reputation. The Vietnam
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Top: With its reef full of wonders that is revealed at low tide and a lineup that stretches beyond the imagination, G-land remains one of surfing’s most majestic spectacles. Photo: Hoole • Bottom: Frame grab from ‘Tubular Swells’ by Hoole/McCoy of Bob Jones in an early treehouse he and a couple of locals constructed. Photo: Hoole/McCoy Films
War and the resistance to the draft drove many surfers deeper underground. Some popped up in Asia where the rule of law had less sway, and a few would become part of the supply chain for marijuana and hashish destined for Australia and the USA. Many forget that until the mid-1970s, the vast majority of marijuana consumed in Australia and the United States was imported as there was little domestic production. These smugglers saw themselves more as ‘spice traders’ than criminals. Like the Javan tiger, they are now an extinct species, having met an untimely end, been imprisoned, or turned straight, and the trade swallowed up by organised crime cartels. Surfing would grow increasingly commercialised and homogenised while bikers went further down the outlaw route.
and that sum determines how he lives and how he dies.” Ritter believes that it became Boyum’s manifesto and helps explain many of his actions.
Others in this motley crew of Californian scammers included Bob Jones, Ray Lee, Big Eddie, and Abdul, who kept his real name secret. Ritter remembers Abdul as anything but ordinar y. After a spell in jail, he kept ahead of the narcotics police watching him by slipping out of California in 1970, “On a one-way ticket to India and with a new identity he purchased from the Brotherhood of Eternal Love.” He found his way into to the spice trade, “During a 10-day trek in Nepal with an Indian hashish merchant.”, and with his profits, landed in Bali in early 1972 with a quiver of the latest boards. Big Eddie, a Malibu idenWhen Mike Boyum arrived in Bali in 1969 tity, was on the lam from a parole violation in there were no motorcycles on the island and the United States and had, “Just completed six no tourist development. By the time Ritter years living between Kabul, Kathmandu, and landed there in March 1971, Boyum was the Menali studying the ancient secrets of hashish most established expat in Kuta, and although making.”, when he arrived in Bali. At this time Ritter regarded him as ‘a small-time, second- hippies and pot smoking were still tolerated rate scammer’ he also recognised that he was in Indonesia. Sumatra grew some of the most also a ‘hustler of the highest order’. They potent weed in the world and even used the became close fr iends and collaborator s dried leaf in the famous makan Padang cuisine. through the early 70s and 80s. It was Boyum Very little was left on the plate. who instigated the processes for Grajagan to become the Bob Laverty, a fellow Californian, cut a strik“MIKE BOYUM COMMITTED first surf camp in the world. ing figure, but was cut from a different cloth. He was a complex character, Tall and strong with long reddish-blond hair, TERRIBLE DEEDS AGAINST revered by some and hated by he grew up in an affluent family and did not MY FRIENDS, AND I DESPISE a good many more. As Ritter need to create scams to survive but managed says, “Mike Boyum commit- to fit in with the others. During the summer of HIM FOR THAT. I ALSO SHARED ted terrible deeds against my 1972, Laverty tied his surfboard to a motorfriends, and I despise him bike and rode to the end of the island to take SOME OF THE BEST MOMENTS for that. I also shared some a ferry to East Java to try and find the mythiOF MY LIFE GETTING INTO of the best moments of my cal left hand point break that had been seen life getting into mischief all by others when flying to Jakarta. In an aeroMISCHIEF ALL OVER ASIA WITH over Asia with Mike Boyum. gramme to his parents dated August 23, 1972, If he knocked on my door Laverty wrote, “Have been to Java for a few MIKE BOYUM.” today, I would invite him in days and went to a primitive village on the east to reminisce.” He describes Boyum as, “Both coast. wrote Laverty, “I was alone and the first a visionary and a sociopath”, with a fondness white man (westerner) they had seen.” He did for Bali’s mushrooms. At that time, they were not reach Grajagan point, but returned to Bali both devouring books by South American with news of the potential of that coastline. author Carlos Castaneda about a Mexican Another year would pass before the first surfIndian shaman named Don Juan, who used ing expedition to Grajagan got underway. psychotropic mushrooms and herbs to explore a visionary ‘separate reality’ by following a Ritter and his friends were only vaguely aware path he called, “The way of the warrior”. One of the impact that the surf movie ‘Morning of of Boyum’s favourite Don Juan quotes was, the Earth’ was having back in Australia. They “A man is only the sum of his personal power, were in Bali already and didn’t require a movie
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Top: Bob Jones getting familiar with the wave at Grajagan on the first Hobie trip in 1973. Bottom: First Hobie trip – day two sailing from Kuta to Plengkung on Abdul’s Hobie. Photos: Warren Anderson Collection
to motivate them to travel. They had made the long journey to the end of the Hippie Trail to find paradise and would have preferred to keep it a secret, at least for a little while anyway. But after hearing about the film crew’s Uluwatu find, they were contemplating the possibility of an even greater surf discovery just a few miles across the Bali strait at a place named Grajagan on the few available charts. Perhaps the feeling of being scooped by the Australians at Uluwatu added an unspoken sense of competitiveness to be the first to explore Grajagan. Late one night at the start of the 1973 surf season, Abdul, Ray Lee, and Bob Jones launched Abdul’s 16-foot Hobie Cat through the surf in front of his house near Kuta Beach and prepared for the long downwind reach toward Blambangan. From interviews, Ritter records that, “A trail of turquoise phosphorescence followed them like rocket exhaust, as the Hobie Cat began for the 35-mile crossing of the Bali strait.” After an overnight stop on the south-east tip of Java, they sailed around the headland and into Grajagan Bay to find, “A perfect left – unreal, like “ALTHOUGH THEIR DRIED out of a comic book.” said FRUIT WAS NOW MOLDY, HE Abdul. “The waves were a solid eight-foot; they were ATE SOME ANYWAY, AND TOLD going off.” Ray Lee was too ill to get in the water. What ME LATER THAT HE HEARD A he thought was sunburned “CRACK,” LIKE THE SOUND OF A eyes would turn out to be a severe case of conjunctivitis. BRANCH BREAKING, INSIDE HIS Jones was the first to venture out and after catching a few HEAD. SUDDENLY, HIS MEMORY waves would become the WAS GONE” first documented surfer to ride Grajagan. Later that morning they made a rough camp on the beach, and when Laverty arrived on foot, the Americans fashioned a tent by slinging the sail over the boom and tied it to the hulls. By now, Ray Lee’s conjunctivitis had gotten so bad that he needed to get back to Bali soon or he might go blind. When the Hobie Cat finally hit the sand near Kuta, they were both exhausted and exhilarated. Australian surfers may have been the first to paddle
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out at Uluwatu, but they had ‘discovered’ one of Indonesia’s crown jewels. Shortly after the Hobie expedition, Laverty drowned during a suspected epileptic seizure while surfing Uluwatu, but Boyum was already making plans to build a surf camp at Grajagan. While Boyum began the long application process with the military police who controlled the area, Ritter met Humphrey Statter III, also known as ‘Bogie’, a New York blue-blood who had been in and out of trouble most of his life. Ritter tells the story of what happened next: “Although Bogie didn’t need the money, he liked the romantic idea of being a smuggler, so he bought a small trimaran called the ‘Madrigal’. Bogie and an Australian friend then sailed to Sumatra, picked up a load of pot, and tried to sail it to Western Australia. The weather, however, got so foul that they jettisoned the weed and started to sail back to Bali. Bogie had been fasting during the voyage, and, on the turnaround, began hallucinating from dehydration and hunger. Although their dried fruit was now moldy, he ate some anyway, and told me later that he heard a “crack,” like the sound of a branch breaking, inside his head. Suddenly, his memory was gone.” By the time that Ritter met him in Bali, Bogie was in such a bad way, they made arrangements to send him back to New York. Before he left, Bogie told Ritter that he could use the Madrigal if he took care of her. What followed was two expeditions to Grajagan aboard the Madrigal. On the first, in June 1974, Ritter skippered the trimaran, accompanied by Fred Haywood (a rock-solid waterman from Maui), Wayan Kerig, and Bob Jones. Boyum couldn’t join because of a court appearance in California. Robert Pritikin, Mark Wakeland, and his Australian friend, Dave Michel, would go overland and meet them there. While walking the last part of the trek at night, assisted only by moonlight, Dave nearly collided with a tiger. The cat took off just as vigorously as Dave in the opposite direction. They also had to brave marauding monkeys and voracious mosquitos, but the clean eight-foot waves they
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Clockwise from top left: The mysterious Mike Boyum in trophy stance. Photo: Jack McCoy Mike Ritter on the Trimaran Madrigal 1974. Photo: Fred Haywood Bob Jones at the wheel, mid-channel between Bali and Java on the Madrigal. Photo: Fred Haywood Mike Ritter (left) and Jack McCoy – Bemo days in Bali. Photo: Mike Ritter Collection Warren ‘Abdul’ Anderson clutching a smoke in Bali, 1973. Photo: Warren Anderson Collection • Joao de Orleans charging on the first Turtle Boat mission organised by Dave Michel. Photo: Dave Michel Collection.
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Above: Page from Dave Michel’s fascinating diaries that he kept of all three trips he did in 1976. ‘FRIDAY’ “At sunrise we can see Grajagan point in the distance… All want to go surfing and the swell looks good. I’m surprised that no one has fallen overboard yet”. Courtesy Dave Michel Family Collection
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Top Left: Lopez clutching a 6’8” pin tail and contemplating his line on a sheer-faced, G-land grinder – early 80s. Photo: Jack McCoy • Bottom: Peter McCabe took tube riding at G-land to new depths. Here he widens the stance and throws the wings wide on ultra-short craft. Photo: Jack McCoy.
found made it all worthwhile. Boyum was able to join them on the second Madrigal trip in August-September that year. Abdul, Jones made up the rest of Ritter’s crew. Chris Lilley and Barry Middleton took the overland route. They still hadn’t agreed on a name for the point. Ritter recalls that when Boyum chose the name G-Land he nearly puked. Boyum explained that it was a code word to keep the location secret. Ritter was not convinced. These Madrigal expeditions would be Ritter’s last contact with Grajagan. Smuggling would see him drop out of the picture. Afghanistan was becoming increasingly unfriendly to hippies after a coup deposed the King and formed a new government, so the focus shifted from hashish to the Thai stick “THEY STILL HADN’T AGREED ganja trade. Other groups o f a d ve n t u r o u s s u r f e r s ON A NAME FOR THE POINT. discovered the lure of GrajaRITTER RECALLS THAT WHEN gan. The next few year s would see several expediBOYUM CHOSE THE NAME tions, either overland or on turtle boats. Prominent G-LAND HE NEARLY PUKED. amongst these early travelBOYUM EXPLAINED THAT IT lers were Dave Michel, the Henderson brothers, Chris WAS A CODE WORD TO KEEP Lilley, Dick Marsh, Barry Middleton, Brazilian Joao THE LOCATION SECRET. RITTER de Orleans e Braganca, Jeff WAS NOT CONVINCED.” Rowe, Mark Wilkinson, Tim Watts, Dick Hoole and Peter McCabe. Many of these surfers were hostile to Boyum’s emerging plans for a ‘pay to play’ system at Grajagan, a new concept at that time, but Boyum would eventually triumph, establishing the word’s first surf camp.
Boyum lost control of the camp, and the number of permits to travel there ballooned. These first-hand accounts really give a feel for what it was like to be there at that time. More of this in a later story. The few years covered in this journal are just a blip in the history of Blambangan, but the account is an important document about a pivotal window of time before mass tourism, mobile phones and Google maps would change the world forever. While surf adventure has become more packaged and prudent, continuous lines of swell still rise out of the Indian Ocean, and peel along the coral reef, making Grajagan a must do on the bucket list of places to surf. Everyone who has travelled there has been touched by its energy, including me. Following a surf trip there in 1980 with Peter McCabe, Rory Russell, Dick Marsh and the Hollywood actor Bill Murray, some of my stills and footage ended up in the controversial documentary ‘Sea of Darkness’ which was criticised for peddling salacious content. With this new book ‘Grajagan – Surfing in the Tiger’s Lair 1972-84’, the authors aim to give a verified and authentic history. ‘Grajagan – Surfing in the Tiger’s Lair: 197284’ will be available in August 2022 via: cyclopsproductions.com.au (AUS) chatwinbooks.com (US)
There is much more to the Grajagan story. In the book, noted surf filmmaker and historian, Jack McCoy, gives a personal account of early trips to Plengkung and introduces larger than life characters such as Kurt Neuman, Eddie Rothman, the Miller Brothers, Gerry Lopez, ‘Kong’ Elkerton, and the first Balinese surfers to make the trip. He goes on to record his own experiences in the 1980 to 1984 period before
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Crafting Happiness with Jim Banks OVER 50 YEARS AFTER HE MADE HIS FIRST BOARD, BANKSY IS STILL CHASING NEW SENSATIONS. Written by Luke Kennedy
JIM BANKS UNDERSTANDS WHAT A GOOD BOARD MEANS TO A SURFER. “ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT BEING A SHAPER IS THAT IN A SENSE WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY FOR SOMEONE’S HAPPINESS,” EXPLAINS THE 62-YEAR-OLD SURFER/CRAFTSMAN. “I take that as a very serious responsibility… If someone buys a board off me, I want to make sure that it’s something that they’re gonna love and it’s gonna make them happy. Because I know what it’s like to have a board that you’re not happy with. It sucks.” Driven by autodidactic tendencies (he also makes his own guitar amps), Jim taught himself to shape in 1971, when he was 12. He started on single fins, was there when MR ushered in the twins and was still on tour in 1981 when Simon Anderson unveiled his thruster. As a shaper, Banksy has explored almost every design trend and innovation over the last half a century and his current suite of models clearly reflects his diversity and experience as a shaper. His design files feature everything from single fins to super-sized twin fin gliders and his fabled Indo guns. Banksy’s shaping act was always underpinned by his reputation as a world-class surfer. He was a member of the pro tour in the late 70s and early 80s with a career best finish of 14th in 1980. His competitive high point was a victory in the Om-Bali Pro in 1981. “On a twin fin,” he points out. However, hustling through heats at Huntington was never really going to satisfy Jim’s broader surfing tastes. Through the late 80s and 90s Banksy became better known for exploring isolated regions of Indo and needling his 7’0” guns through gaping barrels. These days, Jim lives on Bali’s Bukit peninsular and riding his own craft in a variety of waves around Indonesia remains an integral part of the research and design that goes into his boards.
the revived interest in twin keel fish designs. When Kelly Slater recently expressed an interest in getting a few boards from Jim he was inspired to develop his own high-performance version of the keel fin, which he calls the ‘Hooker’. Tracks caught up with Jim to talk about his evolution as a shaper, his latest creations and the ones he personally loves to ride the most. You’ve been riding and shaping the keel fin fish for the last 15 years. What turned you on to the program? Well, Steve Lis had come to Byron and was shaping some boards. I didn’t know anything about it. And one of my mates had been here with Steve and so he made his own version. And I saw him down the beach with it. And I was like, making fun of him. Like ‘what the fuck is that?’ You know? Yeah. And looking at the parallel plan shape, the massive swallow tail, the weird-looking fin and the low rocker. Everything I knew about surfboard design told me that that board would surf terrible. Yeah. And so I’m making fun of him. And he’s like, ‘no, no, it goes really good’. And he said to take it for a surf. So I paddled out and took off and yeah, it went f$%#ing fantastic. Really good. I was like, ‘shit, I need to make myself one of those. This is fun’. When you first started travelling through Indo in the early 80s, you probably wouldn’t have had the luxury of taking four or five boards?
I think I used to come to Indo with two or three boards. And quite often, it would just be three seven footers. Back in those days unless someI travelled to Grajagan with Jim back in 2005, thing had some kind of triple barrel, or some where he was already reading the tea leaves on big, massive face I wasn’t really interested.
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Jim Banks has been pencilling his name into stringer lines for half a century. Meanwhile his barrel count is probably on the all time highest list. Photo: Sabrina Schmid
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Top: Jim with one of the first incarnations of his take on the keel fin fish, 16 years ago. Photo: Childs • Bottom: And taking the aforementioned board for a spin at G-Land. Photo: Childs
Did you shape any twin fins when you were on tour?
fun in small surf, but I found that as I started riding them in bigger waves, I found myself nursing them and not getting the response I I built a twin fin in 1981 and that was the year wanted. So that’s when all the work started Simon came out with the thruster. So I pretty you know. Tuning the plan shape and tuning much only surfed the twin fin for a few months, the fins and tuning the bottom contours, the and then it was straight onto the thruster, but rocker; going through the whole thing to get I actually won the Bali OM here on a twin fin. them to a point where I could ride them in double overhead surf and push and them and That’s an interesting bit of history. they were solid under my feet. I actually surfed Outside Corner on the twin fin, and it was, you know, decent sized. I think that’s the best surfing I’ve ever done at Outside Corner. It would have been like a six-foot board, or something, was it? Yeah, it was a six-footer, an MR-style twin fin which don’t have the stability and drive of the keels. The problem I found with “I WENT TO DO A CUTBACK AND MR-style twin fins, personally was that they were terriTHE THING JUST GRABBED ONTO ble on the backhand, and a THE FACE AND PULLED AROUND lot of people had similar experiences. So that was a SO HARD. I WAS SHOCKED. I WAS big revelation when I jumped on the keel fins, it was really LIKE, ‘HOLY SHIT, THIS TWIN KEEL solid under my feet. And I HAS MORE DRIVE, MORE POWER felt great on the backhand. I started building twin fins AND MORE HOLD THAN MY QUAD in Byron and so I was surfing, you know, Lennox on my GUNS.” backhand. And, you know, I needed something that was solid and powerful and driving. And the keels did that. I could never get that response from the MR-style ones. When the twin fins came back in the next question was, ‘Can you ride them in bigger waves?’ And then can you ride them in bigger waves on the backhand? That was sort of the next frontier? So that’s right. That’s what happened. You know, after surfing Yatesey’s one, I immediately made one for myself and, and that was so much
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Is the twin keel a board of preference for you now? If you’re looking at solid waves, say for example Outside Corner? Yeah, I mean ever since 2005, the keel has almost been my go-to board. I’ll ride them up to like double overhead at Ulu’s, depending on what it’s like. But you know, as a surfboard designer I need to keep in touch with my full range. So even though it’s my board of preference, I still go surf my pin tails and my quads and I’ll ride my thrusters every now and then just to check in on them. But I started making some bigger twin fin boards just like sevenfoot, twin keels just to see how they would go. That kind of mid-length thing was kicking in and it was just for a bit of fun, you know? But of course, I was curious. So I surfed up the top of the reef here where it’s pretty chunky, pretty solid – double overhead. And I remember the very first wave, I took off and I came out to the shoulder, and I went to do a cutback and the thing just grabbed onto the face and pulled around so hard. I was shocked. I was like, ‘Holy shit, this twin keel has more drive, more power and more hold than my quad guns. So yeah, that was a real revelation. So you know, last year at the Bommie here, I was riding a nine-foot twin fin. Because at the bommie here at Ulu’s, you need so much speed sometimes. And I could feel with the quads that I was still getting too much drag on the face. I guess what goes through a lot of people’s heads is the idea that if I’m on a 10 or 12-foot wave, or even a six-foot wave, and I’m leaning into a bottom turn on a twin fin, is it going to skip out? That’s still the fear for a lot of people I guess.
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Opposite: Jim has embraced computer-aided board design but knows that much of the art is in the finish. Photo: Sabrina Schmid
Well, that’s exactly what I thought. When I made the seven-footer, I expected it to be a little bit drifty and a bit skittish... And that’s what shocked me was it actually had more hold and more control than my quads. Yeah, that’s the last thing I expected, it was the opposite of what I expected.
Exactly, it’s a bona fide authentic high-performance thing. We make some boards here for some of the local boys. Blackie, he’s like one of the best surfers here and he just won the last Uluwatu surfboard riders on a twin keel. He out surfed all the boys on their thrusters on his pin tail, twin fin keel we made him. We also made Mitch Colburn a couple of boards. He’s I was looking on your website and it seems a real powerful surfer. We made him a couple you’ve gotten into refining the fin itself? of pin tail, keel fin boards. He said he loved the seven-footer, but the six-footer he said it Yes, we still have our like, you know, clas- had more drive than any board he’s ever surfed. sic sort of keel shapes, which are really nice, but I find in the bigger waves, they load up Fifty years after you started shaping, it too much. Too much load on the fins…. Our sounds like the pursuit of the perfect board, hooker fin, which is our or the better board is still a challenge for you? sort of a tweaked, modified hybr id, keel came about … I’ll get an idea and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, I might “I THINK THAT THE WHOLE w h e n K e l l y v i s i t e d a n d try this. And you’re like, ‘holy shit, I didn’t wanted some boards. And think this could be any better’. And now it goes PRO-COMPETITIVE THING HAS so I had to really think ‘how better. So yeah, that’s what keeps me going. It’s CONTROLLED THE MINDSET FOR can I get more performance an adventure and a discovery of like … try this from my keel fin for Kelly?’ and see what happens… There is this constant A REALLY LONG TIME. AND I THINK That’s where that started. I element of surprise with building surfboards. originally designed that for You think you’ve built something for this. And IT’S CREATED A SITUATION WHERE Kelly but as I started play- it does do that. But then it does this whole A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SURFING ing around with it myself, I other thing that you’d never expected. found that it works really FROM THEIR MIND RATHER THAN good for the bigger boards Do you think the average surfer has to get FROM WHAT THEY’RE FEELING” and the bigger waves. away from the idea of watching the CT and thinking exclusively in those terms So how do you make a keel when it comes to surfboards? That surfing fin more performance orientated? What is instead, by virtue of the range of boards do you do to it? available, a pursuit that offers a series of distinctly different sensations? So here’s a really interesting thing with keels. Here’s some mathematics. If you’ve got a Yeah, look, I think that the whole pro-competthruster, which I think is still the standard itive thing has controlled the mindset for a reference board. You’ve got three fins, with a really long time. And I think it’s created a situfour-and-a-half-inch base, right? So you’ve ation where a lot of people are surfing from got a total fin base of 13 and a half inches… their mind rather than from what they’re feelBut with a keel, you’ve still got your 13 or 14 ing and forcing and pushing it and being busy inches of fin base… So the base is really where and waving their arms and trying all these the drive and the stability comes from and so manoeuvres. I’m guilty of it. I did it when I the thing was, like, I needed to keep that drive was younger on the pro tour. But you know, I and stability, but I wanted more response. Yeah. think that’s been the beauty of the whole retro So I made a finer tip. And the tip of the fin is movement. It’s like, ‘Hey, look, I don’t have to more like a conventional fin. rip. I can just go have fun.’ It’s like, you know, I still love barrels, and I’ve had a million. I’ve I think some people have this picture in probably had more barrels than most people, their head of someone just high lining on but these days, you know, a lot of times, I’m a wave on a twinny and not doing much, just happy to feel the glide. Yeah. Just that but the reality is you can actually really beautiful simplicity of just gliding along the surf them? face of the wave and getting some nice swoops. It’s such a beautiful feeling…
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Opposite: G-land speed run on a keel-fin fish back in 2006. Photo: Childs • Below: Jim Banks looking for the right alchemy of foam, finish and refinement to manifest an outcome that makes the rider happy. Photo: Sabrina Schmid
“I’M BUILDING EVERYTHING FROM SIX-FOOT FISHES TO NINE-FOOT GUNS AND 5’10” PERFORMANCE BOARDS. THE ISSUE I HAVE, IS IT’S A HELL OF A LOT OF WORK TO KEEP THEM ALL UPDATED”
… You know, combining all that glide that a mid-length naturally has. And then you combine that with all the glide of a keel and it’s like ‘Wow, you’ve really got some serious glide going on when you add that.
there is a bit of this thing where a shaper is just producing something that looks like the real deal.
I mean, that’s why I have such a wide range of surfboards… I’m building everything from sixObviously you’ve embraced the retro foot fishes to nine-foot guns and 5’10” performovement, but you’re across the concept mance boards. The issue I have, is it’s a hell of of the contemporary shortboard as well. a lot of work to keep them all updated… And Sometimes the surfing public gets scared these days, you know, with the refinement that if they see someone shaping twin fins we can do with the computer designing, we and single fins. Then they go, ‘Oh, I can’t can get the board so refined, that if it’s a good get a performance board off that person board, that’s not enough. Because I know if I because they are just a retro shaper. Does keep working at it, I can get to a point where a good shaper have the scope to do it all? it’s a magic board. And then every one we make is a magic board, you know. But it does I think if the shaper has done their homework, takes a hell of a lot of work. Yeah. I know there are some shapers who build retro boards, but they don’t surf them because By the same token, can retro board enthuthey consider performance to be an issue. So siasts become too narrow and concerned
with image also? You can ride the full cross section of boards if you want to. There’s no rule against that. And you’re probably better off if you’re open to that concept. If someone’s locking themselves into a narrow genre then it’s really limiting. Surfing is sort of all-encompassing really. If you’re really a surfer, then you want to be experiencing the full surfing experience; everything from bodysurfing to hand planing to, you know, twin fins. And yeah, like you say, performance boards – the whole deal.
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The Ultimate Collection WHEN SURFING HISTORY IS SOMETHING YOU CAN WEAR. Written by Luke Kennedy
Walking through the door s of Michael notes, and I was instantly reminded of a time Bennett’s pop-up shop is like stepping into a when I was a grommet in the mid 80s and I technicolour time machine. Row upon row of wouldn’t buy a pull-over unless it featured at fluoro fashion leaps off the hangers and the least three different pastel panels. room is floor-to-ceiling with treasured items that tell an alternate history of surfing through “I think that’s what gets everyone the most is tactile garments. all the colours,” offers Mickos. “You can see the crew that are sort of probably 40-plus just Michael Bennett, aka Mickos, was just follow- spinning out about their childhood… but the ing a fashion muse. As a Torquay surfer his young kids love it too.” specific obsession was the official contest hoodies from the annual Rip Curl Pro Bells All the brands you might expect are well repreevents. Through a friend of a friend, his quest sented. Quiksilver, Rip Curl, Lightning Bolt for iconic, hooded cotton blends with a Bells and Billabong, alongside many of the other twist, led him to a storage shed in the outer labels that had their moment like Headworx, Melbourne suburbs. Mickos soon discovered Mango, Salt Water and Platts. In addition to the owners of defunct surf outlet, ‘Melbourne t-shirts and sweat tops, the liquorice all-sort Surf ’ had stockpiled all of their unsold retail collection includes everything from corduroy goods from the 70s, 80s and 90s. The garments shorts and fleecy t-shirts to Bolle sunnies, peak were untouched, many of then still in their caps, spray jackets and crochet bikinis. “We’ve original plastic sleeves. got an amazing range of women’s swimwear too,” insists Mickos. When Mickos realised he had stumbled upon a bounty of vintage surf fashion, he couldn’t Some of the more obscure brands inspire the help himself. “I asked the stupid question on most curiosity, like the Grant Kenny gear. what it was all worth and I got a pretty silly Anyone who lived through the 80s will rememanswer and was able to make it all work.” ber that Kenny’s Iron Man exploits were a defining feature of the decade. However, most The deal all went down just before COVID of us probably didn’t know that Kenny (his kicked in a few years ago. Mickos, who use dad was a pioneering board shaper) had his to run the storied Bird Rock Café in Jan Juc, own line of clothing, which it has to be said is was looking for a lane change and pursuing pretty cool and understated when you put it his interest in vintage surf gear seemed like a in the vintage pile. “It’s been killing it for us,” good move. “It’s basically something that I’m explains Mickos. passionate about. And it also means that I can be my own boss and have a better lifestyle,” he Many of us have probably trawled through explains from behind the counter of his tempo- flea markets and stalls for vintage ‘Amerirary, Torquay store. cana’ fashion, but this throwback range has a distinctly ‘Australiana’ flavour. In addition While online sales ticked over during COVID, to the Oz made and designed surf gear, there at the start of last summer he decided to lease are also original prints that celebrate iconic a space in surf city, Torquay and put his collec- moments in Australian sport like the America’s tion on show. Cup victory and the nascent phase of worldseries, one-day cricket – aka pyjama cricket. As you wander the aisles, the myriad of colours swirl with kaleidoscopic impact. The eclectic Asked if he has a favourite item, Mickos still assembly of clothes hits all kinds of nostalgic can’t go past his Bells hoodies, which sell for
$300-$350 a pop. Might sound expensive but if you are a lover of surfing and Australiana, it’s hard to find a piece of clothing which features the rock band ‘Australian Crawl’ as the sponsor of the Rip Curl Pro, which they were in 1984. “I’ve got ’87 Bells which is probably the best print,” indicates Mickos. “Even just some of the branding on the others, like Quiksilver and Rip Curl on the same print.” In an era where disposable fashion has become an addiction, Mickos likes the idea that his rare, retro goods will hang in wardrobes as prized garments. “I think the best thing about it is it’s not like throwaway fashion. Like it’s the sort of thing when someone buys a piece here, they’re gonna keep it and love it. And it’s, you know, being reused and repurposed.” While the temporary, Torquay shop has been a lot of fun, Mickos plans to dodge the frigid Victorian winter and take his colourful collection on the road. “I’m going to do some popups around Sydney and Brisbane, maybe the Goldie or Byron. Just see where I end up.” If you’re on the east coast keep an eye out for Mickos over winter and spring. You certainly won’t miss the splash of colour and iconic prints spilling out the doors of a pop-up shop or off the rack of a market stall. Who knows, amongst the miscellaneous items you might even find that one piece that transports you back to another time and place in your surfing life. Check out all the gear and get in touch with Mickos on @retrosurf_skateclothing
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Fear & Loathing DID LEGENDARY GONZO JOURNALIST HUNTER S THOMPSON GET IT RIGHT ABOUT AMERICA? Written by Kirk Owers
Hunter S Thompson is one of those counterculture figures that keep popping up in unusual places – like surfing magazines and Johnny Depp films. Last year he appeared in both Tracks and Paul Theroux’s surf novel, Under the Wave at Waimea – albeit in drunken, drugaddled caricature. At this year’s Pipe Masters, Californian commentator, Chris Cote, could be heard echoing one of Thompson’s bestknown lines: Buy the ticket, take the ride. Buy the ticket, take the ride. Translation: take big risks and deal with the consequences. For Thompson, that frequently meant gobbling enormous amounts of drugs – cocaine, LSD, whiskey, weed and speed were his staples – and riding out the subsequent psychosis. He’d compact the nerve-tearing results by roaring down a dark highway on a motorcycle with the headlights off, lighting up the sky with explosives or attending police conventions while hallucinating. Detractors chide that Thompson glamourised drug taking, but I would suggest only in the way Evel Knievel glamourised jumping over Snake River Canyon. Besides, there was a lot more going on in his magnificent cranium, as journalist, Timothy Denevi, explores in his biography Freak Kingdom. Denevi focuses on Thompson the political journalist whose embrace of progressive politics was shaped by the murderous insanity of the Vietnam War, the assassinations of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the growing civil rights movement.
book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, reads like exhilarating satire – a drug-fueled romp across the Nevada desert told in the author’s signature gonzo style. But the real story is much more interesting. Thompson wasn’t travelling with a Samoan attorney (Dr Gonzo in the book); he was with Mexican civil rights activist, Oscar Acosta, discussing the death of Latino journalist, Ruben Salazar, who was cop-killed while protesting the Vietnam War. The road trip was a way to get Acosta talking freely without fear of being overheard or bugged. And while they smoked weed and took speed, there was no LSD consumed. The true inspiration for gonzo journalism wasn’t an acid freak out, it was a nervous breakdown. Thompson’s personal life was a hot mess by the late sixties. Massively in debt and hounded for back taxes, his marriage was strained, he was hooked on Dexedrine and behind on deadlines. Physically he was falling apart – the drugs, the booze, the insomnia, the mounting stress. And he saw America falling apart, divided against itself, and veering towards violence and fascism. In his state of unhinged panic he had a revelation: in the blank-eyed stares and fat asses of Vegas gamblers he saw the embodiment of America’s dark, unexamined shadow-soul. Or as Denevi puts it: “Vegas embodied the victor’s nihilism. If the only limits on American society are greed and power, you’ll inevitably arrive at exactly this sort of desert city: a place where the very few take everything they can from people who keep coming back – all the while providing endlessly diabolical entertainment to numb and distract from the repeated pain of loss.”
a swine of a man and a jabbering dupe of a president… if there were any such thing as true justice in this world, Nixon’s rancid carcass would be somewhere down around Easter Island right now, in the belly of a hammerhead shark.” The fire to hold America accountable burned brightly until the end but the ability to produce long-form works of brilliance deserted Hunter S Thompson in the mid-70s. Tragically, Thompson didn’t just have a superhuman tolerance for recreational drugs he had a very pedestrian addiction to them. Biographer, Denevi, suggests that Thompson knew of the damage he was inflicting on himself and accepted it as the cost of producing such original and important work. “Instead of heeding his body’s natural limitations and allowing it to recover, he simply kept going – burning up, in the process, material that from that point forward would no longer be available.” The final ride ended for Hunter Thompson when he blew his brains out at his Owl Farm property in Colorado on February 20, 2005. He was 67. “I think that the truth of what rings through all his writing is that he meant what he said. If that is entertainment to you, well, that’s OK. If you think that it enlightened you, well, that’s even better,” long-term collaborator Ralph Steadman summarised his legacy.
As for America, pundits have been predicting its collapse for decades. They’ve always been wrong. But after Trump’s reality-defying presidency, the unite-the-crazies Capitol Hill riot and the stolen election ego-fantasy, American His first non-fiction book was a brilliant piece democracy has been buried under a dump of observational journalism that saw him riding truck of conspiracies and horse shit. It’s not with the Hells Angels for the better part of a just veteran journalists echoing Thompson’s year. Eventually, they beat the shit out of him The Vegas book was a success and became a warning of chaos and collapse – some 70 per but not before Thompson got their measure. cult classic. Thompson started writing for cent of Americans believe the land of the brave He saw the Angels not as freedom loving indi- Rolling Stone magazine as its national affairs is ‘in crisis and at risk of failing’. Russia and vidualists but white trash thugs who followed, editor. With the seventies beginning in turmoil China’s emboldened land-grabbing, and an “The same kind of retrograde patriotism that and America’s future precariously balanced, ancient US president with memory and speech motivates the Ku Klux Klan and the American he covered the 1972 election that would even- issues is hardly helping. And then there are the Nazi Party.” This century’s escalation in far tually be won by his nemesis, Richard Nixon. millions of gun-toting conservatives who feel right violence is something Thompson first saw Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail was the only way to make America great again is coming for America on the back of a chopped his most overtly political and best reviewed through violence. hog. The angels, he warned, were, “The first book. Afterwards, Thompson was acclaimed wave of a future that nothing in our history has as America’s least accurate but most truthful “I think there is a terrible angst on the land, a prepared us to cope with.” reporter. sense that something ugly is about to happen, an hour-to-hour feeling of nervous anticipaThe death of the American dream became He nailed Nixon as a habitual liar well before tion,” Thompson wrote of America in 1965. Thompson’s journalistic beat but he rarely Watergate brought him down and channelled Words that seem just as unsettling and releapproached it square on. His most famous his rage into brutal slap downs. “He was vant today.
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THE ULTIMATE SURF/DIVE WETSUIT
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Water Coloured Waves: Lennox Head THE DISTILLED SURFING MEMORIES OF DAVE SPARKES. Words and painting by Dave Sparkes
Lennox Head is a place of obvious power and reverence, even beyond its setting as a precious jewel in the upper hierarchy of the Australian surf crown. The unique shape of the headland, the boulder strewn littoral, and the long arc of the bay, sweeping north towards Byron, make it an attractive entity to even the dustiest landlubber. It’s also why I’ve painted it quite a bit, in all sorts of different conditions. For surfers though, all that is just French polish; the wave itself is world-class, and a totally different entity to its northern sand point cousins. It will hold far bigger size than almost any point break in Australia, but it’s no easy touch. It is crowded – no – packed and has been for decades. It hosts a plethora of hot locals, who control the lineup with a collective iron fist. It is a nightmare to enter and exit the water. It is consistent, in a way, but its open aspect means it is subject to every kink and imperfection in a swell, ala G-Land, and so, is rarely perfectly lined up. As a Byron resident of some years, you’d think I’d surf it a lot. I don’t. I’d like to, but I seem to have a strained relationship with it that never quite gelled. My first surf there was early 1983. It was packed, but I got some screamers and will never forget that debut session on what was also my first Tony Cerff magic
carpet. That’s as good as it’s ever got for me. It’s just become too hard; I’m turning 60 this year and less inclined to shed blood and skin than I used to be. I’m no stranger to heavy rock jump offs, having dealt with some of the horror show entries around Pacific Palms for many years. But Lennox is something else. There is just no standard, reasonably safe approach, as far as I can tell. I’ve never once jumped off the slippery boulders without either: getting shredded; almost getting shredded; losing a fin; or dinging my board. The exit is only marginally easier. The more east in the swell, the gnarlier it is. Yet none of this seems to deter anyone else, as it’s always busy. The local crew are ruthless, and there always seems to be someone on the inside – unless I’m too deep. The sweep is brutal, and due to the entry/exit dramas, the run back around is impractical. The parking is nonexistent on a good day. I still visualise getting another great session there, and I’ll probably give it a go this winter when it fires up, which it inevitably will. If I get one good one, I’ll be happy. If I don’t, I’ll just cop it sweet and keep painting it.
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Classic Cover: July, 1981 THE PRO SURFERS CHANT OM! Written by Luke Kennedy
Many suggest that the concept of a ‘dream tour’ began with the inaugural Quiksilver Pro in G-land in 1995, but pro-surfing first flirted with Indo’ perfection in 1981 at the OM-Bali Pro. As Kirk Willcox wrote for Tracks at the time, “It was an inaugural professional contest held on a lush, tropical island peopled by friendly locals, and it was blessed with good waves, good weather and good times.” Australian ex-pat, Stephen Palmer, would later spearhead the surf brands in Bali, but by the early 80s his label OM, had hit a note with travellers seeking an alternate, easterninfluenced lifestyle. Palmer was a surfer and had done well enough from OM to lash out on a big surf contest. When over 100 competitors arrived, representing nine nations, they were invited to take part in a march along Kuta beach. This included a quartet of Maroubra surfers masquerading as the Ireland team. The colourful gathering created quite a scene on the black sands of Kuta. Increasingly aware of the tourist dollars surfers brought to the island, the Balinese dignitaries were eager participants in the ceremony, along with the Australian ambassador to Indonesia. Later, the president of the Indonesian surf club, a school-teacher named Mr Rizanl, explained the unique contest criteria to participants. “There will be four judging categories: Rhythm and Style; Hot Dogging and Tricks; Tube Riding and Positioning.”
Meanwhile, Jim Banks flew in late, reasoning there wouldn’t be waves for the first few days of the contest. When the swell did kick in midway through the contest window, competitors enjoyed sparkling, eight-foot Uluwatu conditions. With the waves firing, the only problem was the freesurfers (some of them also competitors) who wanted to ride through the competition zone. According to Willcox in Tracks, this is when things got interesting. “A Japanese guy gets on the mic to tell one of his countrymen to get out of the water; the locals start throwing rocks off the cliff and Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer blares out from the speakers. Who said surfing contests are boring??” The surf continued to pump. Returning from a heat, Bondi goofy-footer, George Wales, openly conveyed his gratitude for being involved. “I got the best wave of my life.” He wasn’t the only one making lofty claims. Banksy had made himself a 6’0”, swallow twin fin and proceeded to tear through the early rounds, including a couple of heats at eightfoot Outside Corner. More recently, he told Tracks, “MR had the twin fins, and then the Hawaiians got the twin fins and it was obvious that they were just surfing circles around us on the twin fins, especially in the small waves.” Towards the end of the event the swell tapered, and ultimately it came down to a goofy foot joust between big Jim and the slinky-limbed, Terry Richardson, who had been runner-up at
the event a year earlier. In the lead up to the final, Banksy prepped in The Cave with a back massage. Out in the water, Richo hunted the tubes, but it was Banksy who better satisfied the judging criteria that called for a proportionate response to its various components. A few moments from the final are featured in the Hoole/McCoy classic ‘Storm Riders’, along with a clip of Banksy tearing on the same green twinny with the red starburst he won the contest on. While Banksy claimed victory and the fat prize cheque, Kirk Willcox obviously felt that Joe Engel was the stand-out performer in a separate category when he wrote, “At a postcontest party that night at the house of head judge David Wyllie, Joe Engel wins Rager of the Tour with a brilliantly sustained effort which included offering his host a bucket of rice wine and various other party tricks.” Within a few months the thruster revolution had kicked in and Banksy’s winning twin fin was cast aside until he started riding keel fin twins 25 years later. After two, second place finishes Terry Richardson finally won the OM Bali Pro in 1982. Meanwhile Steve Palmer later said he had some regrets about holding the contest because it inspired the building of the road to Uluwatu, which subsequently changed the whole dynamic of the Bukit Peninsular forever. Tracks classic cover prints are now available at tracksmag.com.au/store/covers
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Classic Goodvibes REVISITING THE BEST OF THE PIG OF STEEL - MARCH 1980.
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Lineup
You probably noticed our feature on Oregon photographer Mark McInnis a few pages back (pg. 84). The one filled with images of perfect waves captured in the frigid corners of the planet. Mark had so many amazing lineups in his submission, that we couldn’t resist running one more. I’m sure we’d all be happy to suffer ice cream headaches and numb extremities for a taste of it. PHOTO : MARK M C IN N IS
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MAIN IMAGE: PASTA POINT @ CINNAMON DHONVELI PHOTO: DARA AHMED PHOTOGRAPHY
OUTER ATOLLS – GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL BOOKINGS
CENTRAL ATOLLS – GROUP CHARTERS
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