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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm These three, lazily, you could almost say, are grazing in the paddock. I always relate to this shot as it reminds me of when we seemed to have a good balance of surfing, leisure and work, all with a pace which was similar to grazing. Less crowds meant that we did not have to rush to get to the surf before the crowd factor took away the fun factor. There was not as much of a feeling of being behind in getting a large number of waves under our belts.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm There is no surfer more pure in essence of style than Wayne Lynch. Here, you can see the questioning mind. The waves did not show up, and many contestants were reflecting something like, ‘Are the commercial bastards going to make us go out in this?’ For me, Wayne is one of the great dancers of our breed. Three others are Phil Edwards, Joel Tudor, and David Nuuhiwa.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm The style of the swimsuit and the harmonious colour of the stacked surfboards capture the look of the era. This image is a good representation of the strength and confidence women were bringing on to the beaches and into our surfing culture at that time. For years her identity was a mystery to me so we called the young woman in this photo ‘Bikini Girl’ though we figured she was a competitor. Then I found this beautiful ‘Bikini Girl,’ in New Zealand.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm This picture I took has always fascinated and captured me. The girl is a sculptural beauty and a good representation of a surfing girl. I think she may have been a competitor in the event. Gleaming wet in her shiny black wetsuit she seems to be contemplating her latest surfing experience or perhaps the result of her latest heat in the contest. I wish I could find out who she is. Until then we can all enjoy the romance and imagination of the unknown blonde haired girl in her wetsuit.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm I didn’t know Jimmy well but I knew his large, exuberant father, who was a famous television wrestler called Tally Ho Blears back when TV wrestling was at its peak. Tally Ho was one of the top organizers and commentators in Hawaiian surf contests and paddle events in the 60s. I believe this is when Jimmy began competing. He won the 1972 World Surfing Champions held in Oceanside California.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm Looking here so young and slight, Reno surfed like a dancer, and, was the only Hawaiian to make it to the final. He surfed close to the centre curve of the wave on a thin short pintail gun, a master of speed and intense concentration. Both as a shaper and rider he contributed significantly to what we now refer to as the short board revolution. Reno was influenced by the active shapers in Hawaii at that time: Mike Diffenderfer, Pat Curren and Dick Brewer.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm Wayne, rarely photographed at that time, is shown here with a tiny, Lennox Head village is in the background. A rough, dirt track, that is just to the left of Wayne’s VW Bug, ran parallel to the shoreline and when not too wet you could drive almost all the way out to the Point. Many of the homes along the foreshore were the fibro family holiday places of people who lived further inland in Lismore or Casino. In winter we had it almost all to ourselves.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm At the moment of this picture being taken Gerry is eying me almost asking by body language what the heck are you doing taking my picture. Gerry is perhaps the most enduring of the Hawaiian surfing legends and the epitome of understated cool. At this time he was Mr. Pipeline having taken over Butch Van Artsdalen’s spot of an aggressive approach and evolved it into the 70s way of groove, flow, and exuding a Zen philosophy into the raw pipeline tunnel… He turned speed on a wave into SloMo. His mentors of shaping are the greats of the 50s, 60s and 70s; Pat Curren, Mike Diffenderfer and especially Dick Brewer. He has also proven to be one of the most adaptable watermen of modern surfing able to leap surf genres in a single bound: Long board to medium to short board to stand up paddlers.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm The three presented faces are Rodney ‘Gopher’ Sumpter (English Champion), Randy Rarick (USA) and Chris Jones (UK). They are wearing the classic wetsuit style of the 1970 models, being cut and stitched up out of neoprene rubber sheets. At this time, wetsuits were the factor that had one of the greatest impacts on the sport of surfing, particularly here in the cold water at Bells and helped shape the surfing world into what it is today. This picture shows the prime designs of the era, which tended to be sleeveless and joined with short and long leg models. Often the long arm part was a separate jacket. I remember them causing a lot of armpit chafing problems. Bells that year was a major testing ground for wetsuits from all different countries. Ripcurl was busy measuring up and giving out samples for the top surfers to test.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm Garth Murphy was one of the early American surfers to settle in Byron Bay. He was my friend and business associate from California who I came to visit in Byron in 1970. I never really left the place completely after that. Russell was Queensland’s State Surfing Champion in the late 60s. He was an excellent surfer in constant motion with a very smooth style in, and out, of the water. After the 1968 World Surfing Championship in Puerto Rico, Russell became shy of competition and lead a more ellusive life. I met him in Kauai when he and Garth stayed with me and surfed perfect point waves at Hanalei Bay in 1969. Russell had come there to pick up his brand new Dick Brewer board. This photo catches his wily nature. His nickname at the time was ‘la Ruse’ French for fox, or so we thought, for those who don’t know.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm The dynamic, wide ranging and raging personality of Peter has left his mark on the world of surfing. Smiling and vivacious, he is an original thinker: the one who conceived and implemented the first man-on-man format to surfing competition and introduced surfing to China. This same year, 1970, he won the Australian National Titles. Not shy in expressing his views Peter did ruffle the feathers of the surfing power structure. His surfing style was strongly aggressive but very controlled, linked and sturdy. Peter seemed to be always in the motion of making changes in established ways and challenging the staid and standard public perceptions. Recently, Peter has become a woman called Westerly.
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EDITION: 1 to 100 STOCK & PRINT: Giclée prints on Moab Natural Paper. All prints are supplied in matt & backed. IMAGE SIZE: 26.5cm x 40cm (approx). OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT: 52cm x 42cm This is most likely the only photograph of surfing’s most renowned rogues/rebels together. Mickey had just pulled into town, unexpected of course, and here they sit on the fence on Jonson Street, Byron Bay, discussing where the best waves and opportunities lie. I love this photo showing the contrast in style: Mickey’s Italian leather shoes and groomed attire versus Russell’s country boy bare feet and scruffy long hair. And, of course, a Byron Bay when it was a sleepy town.