THE BEST OF BELLS: 10 SWELL MOMENTS
THERE’S no other surf event In the world like the Bells Beach Rip Curl Pro. And there are few people who know it like STEVE ROBERTSON.
He first went to the event back in the early ’70s when it was still called the Bells Beach Surf Classic. From 1994-2002 he was the contest director at Bells, and from 2003 to 2010 its media guru.
Given his heritage and knowledge of the event, we set Robbo the curly task of choosing and ranking the top10 most memorable moments of the Bells Classic.
With another chapter in the epic tale to be written this week, here’s what he came up with:
1 ANDO’S EASTER RISING
IT’S Easter 1981, and seemingly from nowhere the swell at Bells is massive — at least 15 foot — and the wind is ideal. It’s probably the best day of big-surf conditions we’ve ever seen at the famous beach, and one man stands above all others in the surf: Simon Anderson. For the previous few months Anderson had been finetuning a radical three-fin design on his surfboard. His three-fin thruster was put to the ultimate test in the heats when Anderson faced seasoned Hawaiian big-wave surfer Bobby Owens. But Anderson (who’d won Bells in 1977) was riding vastly superior equipment and won easily. Owens would have won just about any other heat that day, but was completely outclassed in a result that changed surfing forever. Anderson went on to win the event, and soon all the world’s best surfers were riding three-fin boards.
2 OCCY IRONED OUT
MANY observers regard Mark Occhilupo as the greatest surfer to conquer Bells. In his prime he was almost unstoppable at Bells, and he posted many great victories at the break, including winning in 1998, his amazing Surf Skins victory in 1997, and his famous quarter-final win over Tom Curren in 1986. But I regard his heat against Andy Irons in 2008 as the second most memorable moment at Bells. This was Bells at its best, perfect size — 6-8 feet — perfect winds and tide and a match-up of two of the sport’s greatest titans. There were 9-10 point rides aplenty. Andy Irons took the win. It was worthy of a final, but it was just a quarter-final, an epic quarter-final. This was the best heat I’ve seen at Bells.
3 GABE’S MONSTER RIDE
BACK to the monster surf of Easter 1981, where Central Coast NSW surfer Gabe Callaghan produced something I’d never seen before — and in almost 30 years since I’ve never seen it repeated. He catches a very big wave and rides it from Bells right across the very shallow and dangerous Winkipop button and into the Winkipop break. It was extraordinary, but also extremely dangerous. It proves how big the waves were that day because it’s almost impossible to ride a wave through that section. I doubt we’ll ever see that happen again. As a point of interest, Gabe Callaghan only had a short pro surfing career but his daughter Macy Callaghan is one of Australia’s most exciting emerging young surfers, and she’ll surf her first Rip Curl Pro at Bells this Easter.
4 LOCAL HOPE TURNS GIANT KILLER
VICTORIAN surfer Adam Robertson, the Portland surfer who now lives in Torquay, had a sensational Rip Curl Pro in 2009 when he came second to Joel Parkinson. Robertson was, and still is, a sensational surfer at Bells, and anywhere else that delivers good waves. And the conditions that year suited him well. Robertson enjoyed a fairytale ride through the early stages of the tournament, defeating established world-class surfers, including Chris Davidson, Tom Whittaker, Bede Durbidge, Kekoa Bacalso and Fred Pattachia. But the fairytale ended when onshore winds arrived for the final, delivering the worst conditions of that year’s event. If the wind had stayed clean, I still believe Robertson would have pulled off an upset win against Parkinson in that final.
5 BELLS IS BEACHLEY’S
YOUNGSTER Layne Beachley scored her first win on surfing’s big stage in 1994 at Bells. The waves that year were outstanding for the entire event and Beachley delivered in the conditions. She won Bells two more times and the waves always suited her precise and smooth style.
Beachley went on to
win seven world titles and is an absolute legend of the sport. Bells was always one of her favourite waves and favourite events.
6 RICHARDS THE RABBIT KILLER
FOUR-time world champ Mark Richards dominated Bells and surfing in the late ’70s. He had the better of his rivalry with Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew, beating him in three successive Bells finals (1978, ’79 and ’80) while riding a twin-fin, and his dominance was amazing. The big walls at Bells suited both Richards and his self-created fin design.
7 GILMORE GIRL FINDS FORM
STEPH Gilmore had a slow start to 2018 with an average result on the Gold Coast. She arrived at the event 11 years after first ringing the famed bell, with question marks over whether she was still a legitimate world-title contender. Heat by heat Gilmore gained confidence and her scores increased. By the final she was in superb form and her graceful, precise and powerful style was on full show in the sweet conditions of the final, where she defeated Hawaiian Tatiana Weston-Webb. Gilmore had three previous Bells titles but last year’s win was a turning point for her. It was the catalyst to a stellar season in which she ultimately claimed another world title.
8 KEL’S BELLS
KELLY Slater might have rung the Bells bell four times, but, for me, his first title in 1994 was his greatest moment. He arrived as a 20-year-old with a huge reputation and backed it up, dominating in fantastic surf to defeat Martin Potter in the final. The best heat that year is also regarded one of the best-ever heats at Bells. It came in the quarterfinals when Slater defeated Gary Elkerton. Elkerton was in magnificent form, and served it right up to Slater and the result could have gone either way, but the young American triumphed on his way to the title.
9 FOLLOWING THE SUNNY
SUNNY Garcia was never easy to defeat at Bells. In 1995 he defeated fellow Hawaiian John Schimooka in a final that was moved from Bells to the nearby reef at Winkipop. It’s all part of the Bells Beach reserve, but Winkipop often offers higher-quality waves, and that year on the final day it was an excellent choice. Here’s a quirky fact: even though Sunny Garcia was an incredible surfer at Bells — definitely one of the best ever — none of his three Bells wins (1995, ’96 and 2000) were secured at the Bells break. He won them at Winkipop, Johanna Beach and Gibson Steps. It’s part of the creative spirit of this event to chase the very best waves our coast has on offer and it’s a big reason Bells remains a favourite for all the world’s best surfers.
10 MICK GOES FULL THROTTLE
It’s hard to believe we’ve got all the way to No.10 without mentioning the great Mick Fanning, but that simply reflects the rich history of this famous event. In 2012 Kelly Slater performed a crazy forehand air reverse to flats for a single-move score of 10 — and still couldn’t win the final against Mighty Mick. It was the most exciting final ever at Bells, with both surfers at the top of their game. Fanning’s surfing was so well-suited to the mid-size waves at Bells and he went full-throttle throughout, performing searing arcs and tight power carves to throw buckets and win the judges’ approval. To be honest, this final was so good it could easily be much higher on this list, some people would possibly have it at No.1 and I’d find it difficult to argue with them.